HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Energy Usage

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much energy in kWh per square metre has been used on the parliamentary estate in each year since 2004.

Nick Harvey: The energy in kWh per square metre used on the parliamentary estate for each year since 2004 is given as follows:
	
		
			   kWh per square metre 
			 2004-05 334 
			 2005-06 348 
			 2006-07 (Up to end December 2006) 220

Visitor Entrance

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, what site investigation and surveys were undertaken by the House authorities prior to letting the contract for the visitor entrance.

Nick Harvey: Several site investigations and surveys were undertaken, during year 2004.
	 Dimensional Surveys
	These were carried out by Messrs Plowman Craven Associates.
	 Geotechnical and ground investigation surveys
	These were carried out by specialist company Messrs G B Geotechnics Ltd.
	 Archaeological surveys
	The Museum of London Archaeological Service (MOLAS) carried out a desk-top archaeological impact assessment and issued a report; this was later followed-up by maintaining a watching brief over the works during the course of construction in consultation with English Heritage.
	Prior to letting the main contract, MOLAS was also engaged in carrying out trial excavations and site investigation in conjunction with the structural engineers (Messrs TPS Consult) at each of the foundation bases for the access ramp and for the length of the service trench.

Visitor Entrance

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1792W, on the visitor entrance, what extensions of time have been granted for bad weather.

Nick Harvey: No extensions of contract time have been granted for bad weather.

Visitor Entrance

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1792W, on the visitor entrance, what the grounds were for the extension of time granted on the larger contract on 26 September 2006; and what additional costs are associated with this extension.

Nick Harvey: The quantity surveyors for the project, Messrs Harris and Porter, have estimated the costs for the five-week extension of time already granted at approximately £100,000 excluding VAT, which is based on their judgment that a sum of £20,000 per week is reasonable. The contractor, Messrs Verry Construction Ltd., is claiming the sum of £46,000 for each week of the extension period granted.

Visitor Entrance

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1791-92W, on the visitor entrance, how many contracts were let for the visitor entrance; what the  (a) original budget price,  (b) contract sum and  (c) contingency sum in the contract was in each case; and what the latest forecast is of each contract.

Nick Harvey: The original budget price for the group of related projects stated in the business case for which the visitor reception building is part was £11,944,500 which includes estimated allowances for professional fees, provision of furniture, removals expense, main contract works, enabling works and VAT. The portion of this sum directly relating to the visitor reception building under construction on Cromwell Green is £8,687,500—the remaining sum further divides into £2,763,000 to cover the works associated with the reconstruction of the south steps within Westminster Hall and £494,000 to cover works associated with the renewal of roofing and building plant improvements associated with the Grand Committee Room, off Westminster Hall.
	In all, a total of 60 individual contracts have been placed for the visitor reception building—31 of these are for building works-related items, 23 are to defray consultant and specialist fee costs, two are for furnishing items and four are in connection with public information.
	The original contract sum for the main contract building works within Westminster Hall, to the Grand Committee Room and for the visitor reception building on Cromwell Green is £5,666,789 excluding VAT. Of this sum, £4,277,789 excluding VAT was for the visitor reception building.
	Contingency sums are not included within contracts. An overall risk allowance/optimism bias of £885,400 was included in the approved business case.

Water Usage

Paddy Tipping: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much water is used on average each day on the House of Commons part of the Parliamentary Estate.

Nick Harvey: It is not possible to provide figures for the House of Commons alone for mains water. The amount of mains water used on the parliamentary estate in the first nine months of 2006-07 was 139,477 cu m, giving a daily average of 510 cu m.
	Portcullis House uses borehole water for cooling and flushing toilets. The amount of borehole water used in the first nine months of 2006-07 was 258,149 cu m giving a daily average of 943 cu m.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Al-Yamamah

Norman Baker: To ask the Solicitor-General whether the Attorney-General has legal powers to order  (a) the Director of Public Prosecutions and  (b) the Serious Fraud Office to discontinue an investigation.

Mike O'Brien: The Director of Public Prosecutions does not conduct investigations. As to the Serious Fraud Office, section 1(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 provides that the director of the SFO is to discharge his functions under the superintendence of the Attorney-General. The Attorney-General's power of superintendence is such that, in the event of an unresolved disagreement between the Attorney and the director over a particular investigation, the Attorney's view would in practice prevail. However this situation has never arisen.

Al-Yamamah

Norman Baker: To ask the Solicitor-General what account the Attorney-General took of the fact that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had not completed the process of assessing all the evidence in concluding that it was in the public interest not to proceed with the SFO investigation into BAE dealings with Saudi Arabia in respect of the Al-Yamamah military equipment deal.

Mike O'Brien: The director of the Serious Fraud Office, not the Attorney-General, decided to discontinue the SFO investigation. I refer to my statement of 14 December 2006.

PRIME MINISTER

Annual Reports

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 787W, on annual reports, what the reason is for the time taken to publish the 2005 reports of the Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Intelligence Service Commissioners; and if he will undertake to publish them within 28 days.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 787W.

Chequers Grant

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the value of the annual government grant given to Chequers was in 2005-06;
	(2)  what the value of the government contribution to the cost of household staff at Chequers, net of VAT refunds, was in 2005-06.

Tony Blair: Chequers was established under the Chequers Estate Acts 1917 and 1958 and is administered by independent trustees, who receive an annual grant from public funds towards its maintenance and to cover civilian staff employed at Chequers in accordance with the Acts. Chequers is a grade 1 listed building which the Trustees have a legal obligation to maintain in good repair.
	The grant for 2005-06 was £900,000, which covered such major expenditure items as upgrading staff accommodation, renewing leaking underground pipes, relaying paving and driveways, and urgent repairs to brickwork and estate fencing.
	In addition, as has been the practice under successive Prime Ministers, the Government also pay for military staff stationed at Chequers, whose numbers have decreased since 1997. The cost for 2005-06 (net of VAT refunds) was £148,571. The cost in 1997 (net of VAT refunds) was £215,191.

Departmental Staff

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister how many members of the  (a) Downing Street Press Office and  (b) Strategic Communications Unit previously worked at the Labour party.

Tony Blair: Information relating to an employee's previous employment is confidential between the employer and the employee.

Departmental Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 789W, on Miami trip costs, how many communications staff accompanied him on the visit.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 789W.

Honours System

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to submit his resignation honours list to the House of Lords Appointments Commission for  (a) advice and  (b) approval.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 8 June 2006,  Official Report, column 827W.

Honours System: Investigation

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister whether legal advice has been provided at public expense to  (a) Ministers,  (b) civil servants and  (c) special advisers in relation to the police investigation into potential breaches of the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr. MacNeil) on 25 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1317W.

Trade Promotion

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has considered the merits of the transfer of responsibility for trade promotion and securing foreign direct investment from the Department for Trade and Industry to another Government Department.

Tony Blair: Changes to the machinery of Government are made as and when necessary.

Whaling

Anne Main: To ask the Prime Minister whether whaling was raised with the Japanese Prime Minister at his meeting on 9 January 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I discussed a wide range of issues with Prime Minister Abe during his recent visit. I refer the hon. Member to the press conference I held with Prime Minister Abe and to the joint communiqué issued. Transcripts of these are available on the No. 10 website and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Mr. McCartney) to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Mr. Anderson) on 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1643W.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Commission

Ken Purchase: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what estimate has been made of the cost to the public purse of the Electoral Commission in 2006-07.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission's supply estimate for 2006-07 (HC 1039) authorised resource expenditure by the Commission of £26,180,000 and capital expenditure of £1,195,000, with an overall net cash requirement of £26,565,000. I understand from the Commission that it expects the resource outturn in respect of 2006-07 to be around £2,000,000 less than the authorised figure.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan and Iraq Road Accidents

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) deaths and  (b) non-fatal injuries caused by road traffic accidents there have been to UK troops while serving in (i) Afghanistan and (ii) Iraq since 11 September 2001.

Derek Twigg: As at 16 January 2007; three British Forces personnel have died from injuries sustained during road traffic accidents (RTAs) while serving on Operation Herrick in Afghanistan, since the start of operations in November 2001; 14 British Armed Forces personnel have died from injuries sustained during RTAs while serving on Operation Telic in Iraq since the start of operations in March 2003.
	Improvements were made to the casualty reporting process in January 2006 which mean figures can be given for numbers injured in RTAs since that date.
	Between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2006, the latest date for which verified and validated figures are held, seven British Forces personnel sustained non-fatal injuries as a result of RTAs while serving on Operation Herrick; 15 British Forces personnel sustained non-fatal injuries as a result of road traffic accidents while serving on Operation Telic.
	Between 11 September 2001 and the start of the campaigns no UK troops died or sustained injuries as a result of road traffic accidents in either Afghanistan or Iraq.

British Arms Industry

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Government provided to the British arms industry in  (a) direct subsidy and  (b) indirect subsidy in the last year for which figures are available.

Adam Ingram: The readily identifiable costs to the defence budget of providing support to UK companies to win defence export business were approximately £18.5 million in 2005-06. These costs were substantially outweighed by the benefit we regularly secure from defence exports in the form of lower UK procurement costs. As explained in the defence industrial strategy, exports create value for defence through longer production runs and the consequent spreading of fixed overhead costs.

Chuka Massacre

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library the statements of the three local women and 10 Somali soldiers who witnessed the Chuka massacre during the Kenyan emergency in the spring of 1953, held by his Department; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what grounds the Freedom of Information request by Dr. David Anderson for witness statements to the Chuka massacre in 1953 during the Kenyan emergency was rejected; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The withheld information contains graphic rape statements and related material from three young local women who were allegedly raped by soldiers from the King's African Rifles. These women did not witness the 'Chuka Massacre', although it did occur close by, and at about the same time. The statements are held by The National Archives as part of file WO32/16103 under Section 40 (Personal information) and Section 41 (Information provided in confidence) of the Freedom of Information Act. In these circumstances, it would be inappropriate to place copies of the statements in the Library of the House.
	The 10 Somali soldiers mentioned were suspected of committing the massacre and, some of them, the rapes. No statements from these men are held by the Department.

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many letters to his Department sent from hon. Members during Session 2005-06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) over six months old;
	(2)  how many letters were received by his Department from hon. Members in each of the last 12 months; how many such letters were responded to within  (a) 10 and  (b) 20 days of receipt; how many were answered after 20 days from the date of receipt; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Department records letters sent by its Ministers as ministerial correspondence and makes no distinction between those sent in response to letters from hon. Members, Peers, Members of the European Parliament, Members of the devolved legislatures or members of the public. None of the ministerial correspondence processed in 2005 remains unanswered. As at 26 January 2007, of that processed in 2006, 373 remained unanswered—of which  (a) 149 were one,  (b) 75 were two,  (c) 85 were three,  (d) 38 were four, and  (e) 26 were over six months old.
	The following table details the volume of ministerial correspondence received by MOD Ministers in each month of calendar year 2006:
	
		
			  2006  Number 
			 January 575 
			 February 602 
			 March 739 
			 April 694 
			 May 579 
			 June 537 
			 July 582 
			 August 498 
			 September 549 
			 October 668 
			 November 604 
			 December 374 
		
	
	The Department monitors performance against its target for answering ministerial correspondence within 15 working days. The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/ Peers' correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 75-78WS. Information relating to 2006 is currently being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready.

Departmental Vetting

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are taken at the level of basic vetting for employment to ensure that his departmental staff have not adopted a false identity.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 23 January 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the former Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Watson) on 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1103W, to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner).

Devonport Dockyard

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on recent discussions with Kellogg Brown and Root about future investment in Devonport Dockyard.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 January 2007
	Devonport Royal Dockyard, which is owned and operated by Devonport Management Limited (DML), undertakes refit, maintenance and disposal of the Royal Navy's nuclear submarines, including the re-fuelling and de-fuelling of the Vanguard Class submarines.
	The Dockyard has unique skills and facilities that are essential for this task and which play a direct role in maintaining the UK's nuclear deterrent. The security of these strategic assets is an absolute priority for the UK. The Ministry of Defence must ensure that whoever has control of them has the competence and resources to manage them as well as investing in their future. The Ministry of Defence is in active discussion with the DML shareholders, including KBR, about appropriate ownership and management arrangements for the future of the enterprise.

Information Infrastructure Contract

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria the Atlas Consortium were required to meet during Increment 1 of the Defence Information Infrastructure contract in order to be automatically awarded the Increment 2a contract; and whether his Department was satisfied that those criteria were met.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 19 January 2007
	The original DII(F) contract presumes that subsequent increments will be carried out by the ATLAS consortium subject to a number of criteria being satisfied. These criteria include both strategic considerations (such as benefit to MOD and confidence in the ability to deliver the future work package) and local considerations (such as performance on earlier work of a similar nature). Increment 2a was an amendment to the original contract and therefore was not an "automatic award".
	Evaluation of performance was carried out on a regular basis during Increment 1 with further, more detailed, reviews prior to the Increment 2a contract amendment. The review process included senior management discussion of the most important criteria. The criteria to be satisfied covered:
	Ability to meet the requirement;
	Value for money;
	Delivery of Increment 1 against plan;
	Support of all systems under ATLAS management control and service delivery;
	Service build quality;
	Support for business applications on DII(F);
	Affordability of the solution.
	Having reviewed performance against the criteria, the Department was satisfied that there was sufficient evidence to support a decision to allow ATLAS to start work on Increment 2a of the DII(F) programme.

NHS Treatments: War Pensioners

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1895-96W, on NHS treatment: war pensioners, how many cases of war pensioners not receiving priority treatment his Department took up in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 15 January 2007
	Formal records of individual war pensioners who contact the Ministry of Defence and its Veterans Agency in respect of priority treatment are not kept. Where necessary, the Department takes up individual cases with the relevant health authority.

Service Personnel: Medical Conditions

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many  (a) regular servicemen and  (b) reserve servicemen have been assessed on return from theatre in Iraq and Afghanistan as having psychiatric problems;
	(2)  how many  (a) servicemen and  (b) reserve servicemen returned from (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan after active duty with (A) a mental health problem and (B) post-traumatic stress disorder in each year since 2003.

Derek Twigg: The following table shows the annual numbers of UK service personnel (regular and reservists) who deployed to Iraq on Operation Telic and were diagnosed by the Defence Medical Services at a Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) with a mental health condition thought to be related to their deployment. It is not possible to give an annual breakdown of the figures for 2003 and 2004, nor do we differentiate between regulars and reserves.
	
		
			   2003-04  2005  2006 (to 30 June)  Total 
			 PTSD 93 115 70 278 
			 Adjustment disorder 438 258 133 829 
			 Mood disorder 113 157 71 341 
			 Neurotic disorders 87 76 23 186 
			 Psychoactive substance misuse 55 72 39 166 
			 Other diagnoses 38 39 20 97 
			 Total 824 714 356 1,897 
		
	
	The figures do not include any personnel who have received treatment for a mental health condition since leaving the armed forces. This is because on leaving the armed forces, or on demobilisation for reservists, it is the long established practice that responsibility for medical care passes to the NHS. To collate figures on medical treatment received by every veteran would require an examination of the records of every NHS trust (and every independent healthcare provider) in the country and could therefore be done only at disproportionate cost.
	We currently only collate these figures for Iraq. However, at a time when personnel have been deployed to other operational theatres before or after deployment to Iraq (including to Afghanistan), it is becoming increasingly difficult to attribute a subsequent mental health condition (which in some cases might not present itself until some time after the person's deployment ends) to service on a specific deployment. The Department is currently therefore reviewing its methods of collating figures on service personnel diagnosed with a mental health condition. I will write to the hon. Gentleman when the work is complete.
	Finally, as I announced in this House on 20 November 2006, the MOD's Reserves Mental Health Programme has since that date been providing an assessment and treatment programme for demobilised reservists at the Reserve Training and Mobilisation Centre (RTMC), Chilwell. The numbers of reservists, GPs or third parties contacting RTMC has been very low. As at 19 January 2007, a total of seven assessments had been booked, and, of those assessed so far, two cases referred for treatment at one of MOD's Defence Community Mental Health centres.

Troop Deaths: Afghanistan and Iraq

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK troops have died while serving in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq since 11 September 2001.

Derek Twigg: The MOD is committed to openly publishing statistics on the number of service casualties and fatalities on operations. Information on casualties and fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan is published on the MOD website:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/Operations Factsheets
	Between 11 September 2001 and the start of the campaign no UK troops died in either Afghanistan or Iraq.

Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on future unmanned underwater vehicle programmes for the Royal Navy.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 January 2007
	The primary requirement that the Royal Navy currently has for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) is for Mine Countermeasures. In addition to the Very Shallow Water UUV which is currently in service, an Invitation to Tender was published in November 2006 to deliver a Reconnaissance UUV which we hope to have in service by the end of the decade. Beyond that, the Navy's Future Mine Countermeasures Strategy sets out our aspiration for a range of fully autonomous UUVs, capable of conducting mine detection, classification and neutralisation while the parent platform remains at a safe distance.

Warships

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with the naval building programme since the Strategic Defence Review; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: pursuant to the reply, 22 January 2007, Official Report, c. 1554W
	This answer was incorrect and should have read:
	Since 1997, one submarine and 28 ships have entered service including frigates, amphibious assault ships and support ships. We remain fully committed to our substantial programme of investment in new warships. This includes the new Astute Class submarines, Type 45 Destroyers, future aircraft carriers and the military afloat reach and support vessels.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Ordinations

Robert Key: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners how many ordinations there were in the Church of England of  (a) stipendiary (i) men and (ii) women,  (b) non-stipendiary (A) men and (B) women and  (c) ordained local ministry (1) men and (2) women in 2006.

Stuart Bell: 2006 figures are still being collated but the hon. Gentleman may be interested to know that the equivalent figures for 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			   Men  Women 
			 Stipendiary 155 99 
			 Non-stipendiary 81 108 
			 Ordained local ministry 31 31

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the order on the 42 days pre-movement testing for TB to come into effect; whether the order applies to all cattle inspections; what consultation took place with the industry prior to the order's introduction; what the objectives of the order are; and what plans there are  (a) to review its implementation and  (b) to assess its efficacy and proportionality.

Ben Bradshaw: Statutory pre-movement testing was introduced in March 2006 for cattle over 15 months old moving from high-risk herds. Legislation extends this to cattle over 42 days old on 1 March 2007.
	The purpose of pre-movement testing is to reduce the risk of the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB) through movements of cattle, both within regions of England where disease is endemic and particularly to areas that are currently free of disease.
	There was a public consultation in 2004 on options for preventing the spread of TB through cattle movements. Following that, an independent group of interested parties developed a detailed proposal and its report was published in April 2005. The TB Advisory Group presented its report on pre-movement testing in January.
	Most recently, pre-movement testing was considered by the Ministerial Challenge Panel for Regulation. It agreed that, in light of the best evidence currently available, extension of the pre-movement testing policy to younger animals should proceed on 1 March as planned.
	The panel confirmed that the operation of the policy would be kept under review and that a formal review of the policy would be initiated after March 2008.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to meet the president of the British Cattle Veterinary Association to discuss the Government's plans for tackling bovine TB.

Ben Bradshaw: I have no current plans to meet with the president of the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA). My officials have regular dialogue with the BCVA as well as with other interested parties.

Bovine Tuberculosis

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations he plans to undertake on the proposals in the Bovine Tuberculosis Advisory Committee's report.

Ben Bradshaw: A report setting out the TB Advisory Group's advice to Defra Ministers and the Chief Veterinary Officer on the practical delivery and impacts of pre-movement testing was published by Defra on 16 January.
	The recommendations in the report are for consideration by both the Government and industry. We will work in partnership to take this forward. My Department will respond to the TB Advisory Group in due course.

Cost Sharing

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the objectives are of the cost sharing of crop and animal diseases.

Ben Bradshaw: The overriding objective of cost sharing in relation to the livestock sector is to achieve better management of animal disease risks, through better policy making, so that the overall risks and costs are reduced. Responsibility sharing will provide opportunities for improved regulation and a reduction in the regulatory burden in future. The Government will benefit from increased industry involvement in decision making, which should mean a greater ability to respond and deliver outcomes more effectively and efficiently. Defra is currently consulting on the principles which should underpin the development of this partnership approach.
	The position in relation to crop diseases is the subject of a parallel programme of work. The Government and industry have jointly funded an independent study of options for responsibility and cost sharing in relation to plant health controls to help inform the development of future policy. The study is due to report its findings at the end of June. The overall aim of this work is to identify measures which would improve the overall management of plant pest and disease risks through partnership working.

Flood Defences

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 303-04W, on flood defences, whether the long-term cost of protecting nuclear power stations from the risk of flooding was taken into account in the Government's Energy Review of July 2006.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	Flood defence management costs were considered as part of the Energy Review. Flood defence management costs are site specific and based on estimates by the Environment Agency, where they occur, they are likely to be small compared to the total capital costs of a nuclear power station.
	Any new nuclear power stations would be proposed, developed, constructed and operated by the private sector. Any flood defence costs would be a matter for operators should they decide to bring forward proposals for new nuclear power stations.

Landfill

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the application in two-tier local authorities of fines under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme.

Ben Bradshaw: All waste disposal authorities in England met their obligations in 2005-06 to landfill within the limits of their allowances. No penalties have been imposed under the Landfill Allowances Trading Scheme. Only waste disposal authorities are liable to any penalties arising from transgression of the Scheme's rules.

Laying Hens Directive

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent meetings he has held with European colleagues to discuss the implementation of the 1999 EU Laying Hens Directive.

Ben Bradshaw: There have been no recent meetings between Defra Ministers and European colleagues to discuss this matter.

Laying Hens Directive

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to support the implementation of the 1999 EU Laying Hens Directive from 2012.

Ben Bradshaw: Council Directive 1999/74/EC, which lays down minimum standards for the protection of laying hens, is implemented in England through The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2002.

MSC Napoli

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the environmental damage to wildlife, reefs and fisheries following the beaching of the MSC Napoli.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 29 January 2007
	The Department and its agencies are leading the monitoring of flora, fauna, birds, fish and water quality.
	I can confirm that the reports in the press of hundreds of dead fish are unfounded. None of the local authority personnel cleaning up the beaches, nor volunteers of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) picking up birds, have reported any dead fish. Neither have local fishermen. There is also no evidence that fish and shellfish have been seriously affected. Samples have, however, been taken to monitor the accumulation of any contaminants that may have been released.
	About 700 birds have been collected by the RSPCA and the majority of these are alive.
	Currently, a contractor has been brought in to take away the containers on the beach and the local authority has started cleaning up litter. After consultation with the Environment Agency (EA), arrangements have been put in place for the safe disposal of all waste from the beaches, including that contaminated with oil.
	As for monitoring, water samples taken by the EA show no signs of pollution from the oil, pesticides, or other chemicals from the vessel. However, monitoring activity will continue on a regular basis for the foreseeable future.

Programme Expenditure: Canterbury

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much  (a) the Environment Agency and  (b) English Nature spent on programme expenditure in Canterbury local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Barry Gardiner: The Southern Region of the Environment Agency covers most of the geographical areas of Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and records its expenditure in relation to those areas. Expenditure is recorded within an area by technical or operation teams that have specific operational boundaries that normally relate to river catchments and covers a number of functions. Therefore the information is not available in the form specified in the question.
	However, some examples of flood risk management and water resources spend are available.
	Expenditure on Flood Risk Management is recorded for each flood risk system. These systems cross local authority boundaries. Expenditure for the Canterbury area for 2006-07 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 Canterbury 38,950 
			 Bridge to Grove Ferry 18,800 
			 Northern Seawall 37,270 
			 Whitstable 402,000 
			 Graveney 127,000 
		
	
	This expenditure does not include staff costs.
	Water Resources programmed expenditure within the district council for 2006-07 is as follows. These are only indicative costs, as the Water Resources work programme is not delivered according to district council boundaries.
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 Water Resource Management 20,000 
			 Licence compliance 7,000 
			 Licence determination 7,000 
			 Hydrometric monitoring 35,000 
		
	
	English Nature's finance systems did not permit the recording of expenditure by local authority area and therefore this information is not available.

Rats

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of trends in the rat population.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1641W.

Tuberculosis: Deer

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of TB in the deer population; and what action he is taking to tackle the disease.

Ben Bradshaw: Assessment of bTB in the deer population has been the subject of Defra-commissioned research by the Central Science Laboratory (CSL). It identified four species of wild deer infected with the disease:
	roe deer (1.0 per cent. of 885 tested);
	red deer (1.0 per cent. of 196);
	fallow deer (4.4 per cent. of 504); and
	muntjac (5.2 per cent. of 58).
	Subsequent qualitative risk assessments carried out by CSL and Risk Solutions suggested that the contribution of wild deer to cattle infection is small (less than 5 per cent.), but that more data was needed to enable firmer conclusions to be drawn. Therefore Defra is currently carrying out detailed research into the disease prevalence and density of deer species in areas of high cattle incidence through a sampling survey.
	Under the Tuberculosis (Deer) Order 1989 (as amended), suspicion of TB in any deer (or their carcases), whether farmed, park or wild must be notified to the relevant Divisional Veterinary Manager of the State Veterinary Service. Surveillance of bTB in deer is largely based on detection of visible lesions at post-mortem inspection carried out by the Meat Hygiene Service on farmed deer and wild/park deer destined for export.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the efficacy and timeliness of the supply of compost bins under the Waste and Resources Action Programme campaign Recycle Now.

Ben Bradshaw: Working with local authorities and other partners, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) distributed 1.167 million home compost bins up to 31 December 2006. 624,000 compost bins were distributed in the 2006 calendar year. Of these, 98.9 per cent. were delivered within the advertised 28 day period.
	Research conducted by WRAP has demonstrated that the average diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill attributable to each bin is 220 kilograms per household per year for new composters and 60 kilograms per year for existing composters. With the average mix of new to existing composters experienced by the programme so far, the average diversion per bin is currently estimated as 145 kilograms per household. This suggests that the total annual diversion capacity from the programme is of the order of 170,000 tonnes. A full assessment will be published at the end of WRAP's current business plan period in April 2008.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Advertising Costs

Oliver Heald: To ask the Leader of the House how much the Privy Council Office spent on advertising, including advertorials and advertising features with The Guardian newspaper, including online, in the last year for which figures are available.

Jack Straw: Nothing. The Privy Council Office does not spend any money on advertising in any publication.

Ministerial Offices

Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House what the cost was of moving  (a) his office and  (b) the Office of the Deputy Leader of the House to Dover House.

Jack Straw: The total costs of moving the Office of the Leader and Deputy Leader of the House of Commons to Dover House was £36,787.
	The relocation was treated as a single move of Office and details of the costs cannot split between the Leader and Deputy Leader's Office.
	For the information of the hon. Member the cost of rental and associated charges paid to the Scotland Office for the period 1 September 2006 to 31 March 2007 is £290,000.

Ministerial Offices

Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House how much was spent on redecorating the new offices at Dover House for  (a) him and  (b) the Deputy Leader of the House.

Jack Straw: Nothing.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Alternative Energy Funds

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the establishment of a World Bank fund for developing countries to invest in alternative energy funds.

Hilary Benn: At the Gleneagles summit in 2005, the UK secured G8 agreement that the World Bank should lead on establishing a new Clean Energy Investment Framework (CEIF) that would operate across the international financing system. The aim of this framework is to accelerate and catalyse public and private sector investments in cleaner energy in developing countries.
	The first phase of this work was discussed at the World Bank's Annual Meetings in September 2006. Countries broadly supported the approach put forward, and asked the Bank to continue work on exploring financial options to support clean energy investments.
	The second phase in developing the CEIF will be carried out before the G8 summit in 2008. Engaging the private sector in this work is a key priority going forward. In November 2006, the Chancellor, with the Presidents of the World Bank and the four leading regional development banks, announced a partnership with the World Economic Forum and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development. The purpose of this partnership is to explore how to stimulate private sector investment through the Clean Energy Investment Framework. A conference will be held in London in March 2007 to launch this work.
	In parallel, the Multilateral Development Banks have looked for ways to take forward this work. The Asian Development Bank launched an Energy Efficiency Initiative, with an annual target of providing $1 billion assistance for clean energy projects. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development launched the Sustainable Energy Initiative last year which aims to leverage €5 billion of investment in cleaner energy over the next five years. The World Bank has sought to maximise its existing resources to support clean energy investments, in line with another element of the Gleneagles agreement. A recent World Bank report shows that in 2006 the Bank increased the financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects by 45 per cent. to a total of $668 million, exceeding the 20 per cent. annual increase target set in 2004.
	The UK has committed over £15 million to the CEIF so far, including £3 million for technical support in developing the CEIF and supporting discussions in developing countries; £10 million to fund posts and programme budgets across the multilateral development banks and UNDP over the next three years; and £3 million to the EBRD's Sustainable Energy Initiative. The UK has also announced support for one of the first projects to be developed under the CEIF framework—an investment in wind power in Mexico.

Departmental Offices

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what area of office space his Department and its agencies used in central London in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The total area of office space which DFID used in central London in 2004 was 17,192 square metres. This remained the case until 25 December 2006, when the total reduced to 15,190 square metres as a result of vacating one of our two London properties. This reduction was achieved by a number of means, including more effective use of office space, and relocation of posts to our office in East Kilbride.
	DFID has no agencies with office space.

Development Aid

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which Government spending, other than from the Department for International Development (DfID), is counted as Official Development Aid (ODA), broken down by Department or agency; and what proportion of total ODA came from non-DfID Government sources in each year since 2001.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 29 January 2007
	The following table sets out the breakdown of non-DfID Official Development Assistance (ODA). Where possible the Department or agency has been stated—however, detailed information on contributing Departments is not stored on our systems, for example, UN Contributions from other Government Departments is collected by the FCO but includes spending by FCO and DEFRA, DTI and other Government Departments.
	
		
			  UK ODA by other Government Departments—non DFID ODA expressed as a percentage of total UK ODA 
			  Other ODA  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Total UK ODA (£000) 3,179,193 3,282,073 3,847,183 4,301,584 5,923,070 
			   
			  Non-DFID ODA  
			 Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) Debt Relief (£000) 242,097 392,878 33,336 378,094 1,906,614 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) (£000) 10,743 10,753 44,773 80,081 54,613 
			 FCO and Home Office Drug Related Assistance (£000) 7,294 9,172 9,029 4,630 12,342 
			 UN Contribution from Other Government Departments (£000) 24,594 22,008 22,318 20,587 24,321 
			 HM Treasury (HMT) (£000) 48,571 60,009 78,992 84,250 90,208 
			 CDC Group (£000) 22,069 134,911 233,219 117,083 -11,884 
			 British Council (£000) 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 
			 Scottish Executive (£000) — — — — 1,884 
			   
			 Total non-DFID ODA (£000) 385,368 659,731 451,668 714,725 2,121,410 
			   
			 Non-DFID ODA as a percentage of total ODA 12.12 20.10 11.74 16.62 35.82 
			  Notes: 1. ECGD debt relief figures include Toronto, Trinidad and Naples terms. 2. FCO figures include FCO aid administration costs, FCO contributions to programmes including Global Conflict Pools and FCO contributions to Commonwealth Organisations. 3. No further breakdown is available on our systems for UN contributions from other Government Departments. The total figures are provided by the FCO. 4. HMT figures include support to non-Government organisations in the form of gift aid and EC administration costs. 5. CDC figures include the purchase and sale of equities and investments, debt relief and administration costs.

Global Purchase Fund

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much Government funding has been allocated to the Global Purchase Fund for the development of affordable treatments of disease announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2001.

Gareth Thomas: The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) was established in 2002 to help countries combat these diseases, which kill over six million people each year. To date, the GFATM has committed US$ 7 billion in 136 countries to support interventions against all three diseases. The UK is a strong supporter of the Global Fund, and we are committed to making it work even better and to ensuring the global response to AIDS, TB and Malaria is improved. We have pledged £359 million to the Global Fund since 2002, including commitments of £100m in 2006 and, subject to performance, in 2007.

Government Auctions

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development where his Department publishes information about Government auctions which it arranges or to which it contributes in  (a) Blackpool,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) the North West; and when the next such auction will take place in each area.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has never contributed to any Government auctions.

Microfinance Projects

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people have participated in microfinance initiatives funded directly by his Department in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is currently supporting 79 microfinance and financial sector programmes in 28 countries. DFID works in close collaboration with other donor Governments and multilateral institutions, such as the World Bank, who are also providing financial and technical support for many of these programmes.
	A brief review of the largest programmes shows that in 2006 more than 9 million people participated in microfinance initiatives that received support from DFID in that year. Calculating the number of people who have participated in microfinance in previous years would involve disproportionate cost as information is held at the country level.

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of his Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether he plans to increase the use of open source software in his Department.

Gareth Thomas: 30 per cent. of DFID's current computer systems use Open Source Software components. It is expected that by the end of 2008, up to 60 per cent. of DFID's computer systems will include some Open Source components, using the definition adopted by the Open Source Initiative. DFID will continue to consider Open Source solutions on an overall value for money basis in accordance with the Government's policy statement in 2004.

Plan for Africa

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much Government funding has been allocated to help finance African countries' 10-year education plans to be produced as a result of the Gleneagles Implementation Plan for Africa.

Hilary Benn: The Government have pledged £8.5 billion over the next 10 years in order to support the efforts of developing countries to reach the Millennium Development Goal of getting all children into school by 2015. Most of the African countries in which we provide support for education are in the process of developing or up-dating their 10-year education plans to achieve this target. So far, DFID has signed 10-year agreements with Ghana (£106 million, 2006-15) and Mozambique (£150 million, 2007-16).

Tanzania

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid the UK gave  (a) bilaterally and  (b) through multilateral institutions, broken down by institution, to Tanzania in 2005-06; and what form the bilateral aid took.

Hilary Benn: UK bilateral development assistance to Tanzania in 2005-06 was as follows:
	
		
			   £ GBP million 
			 General poverty reduction budget support 85.00 
			 Other financial aid 15.384 
			 Technical cooperation 2.076 
			 Grants and aid in kind 7.166 
			 Humanitarian assistance 0.5 
			 Total DFID debt relief 2.44 
			 Total bilateral programme 112.566 
			 Aid from other UK official sources 1.572 
			 Total bilateral gross public expenditure 114.138 
		
	
	Multilateral shares are reported by calendar year and the latest available figures for 2004 are as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 EC 16.2 
			 Other 3.9 
			 UN 1.3 
			 World Bank 4.1 
			 Total 25.5 
			  Source:  Statistics for Development 2001-02 to 2005-06, available at: www.dfid.gov.uk

Zimbabwe

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to reduce infant mortality in Zimbabwe.

Hilary Benn: The infant mortality rate in Zimbabwe is currently 60 per 1,000 live births. Five years ago it was 37 per 1,000 live births. Almost 40 per cent. of infant deaths occur in the first month after birth. DFID has committed £25 million to a programme to reduce maternal and infant mortality. This programme aims to improve access to lifesaving obstetric and newborn care, especially those affected by HIV and AIDS, and to maintain access to family planning services, including secure provision of contraceptives. DFID has also provided UNICEF with over £2 million to support the national vaccination programme to decrease the number of vaccine-preventable deaths among children.

Zimbabwe

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of  (a) life expectancy and  (b) child mortality rates in Zimbabwe in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2006.

Hilary Benn: The World Health Organisation estimated life expectancy in Zimbabwe in 2006 as 37 years for men and 34 years for women, compared with 42.9 years (overall average) cited in the UN Human Development Report for 2001.
	The child mortality rate (age 12 months to four years) was most recently estimated at 24 per 1,000 live children (preliminary results of the Demographic Health Survey, 2005-2006). Five years ago this rate was 17 per 1,000 live children suggesting that child mortality is rapidly worsening in Zimbabwe. The overall mortality rate for children under five years is 82 per 1,000 compared with 54 per 1,000 five years ago.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Channel 4

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she last discussed the regulations regarding the broadcasting of  (a) offensive and  (b) racist language and behaviour with the chief executive of Channel Four.

Shaun Woodward: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with the chief executive of Channel 4 on a wide range of topics relating to Channel 4 and the broadcasting sector as a whole.

Digital Switchover

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the merits of enabling social services, children's services or health professionals to make referrals of households to the targeted help scheme for digital switchover; and whether the identification in this way of vulnerable people who should receive help under the scheme will be allowed.

Shaun Woodward: Help will go to those aged 75 or over, or who have a serious disability (defined as being in receipt of disability living allowance, attendance allowance or registered blind and partially sighted).
	Our research showed that older pensioners and disabled people would have the most difficulty during digital switchover which is why we have targeted help on these groups, focusing on installation and use.
	People not eligible for the scheme will still have access to help and advice from Digital UK. Together with Digital UK we are working with charities and other key stakeholders to ensure that hard-to-reach groups get the support they need.

Digital Switchover

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what provisions have been made to facilitate digital switchover in North-East Fife; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: holding answer 29 January 2007
	Between now and Switchover, DigitalUK will communicate with every TV viewing household in North-East Fife to ensure they can prepare for the change. 9,000 households in North-East Fife will qualify for assistance under the Help Scheme.

Elite Sports

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding is available for elite sportsmen and sportswomen preparing for the  (a) Beijing and  (b) London Olympic games.

Tessa Jowell: For the Beijing Olympic 'cycle' (2005-09), UK Sport, the Government's lead agency for high-performance sport, will make a total of £215.4 million available for all aspects of the training and preparation of elite athletes on its World-Class Talent, World-Class Development and World-Class Podium Programmes, which are collectively known as the World-Class Performance Pathway (WCPP). Of this figure, £191.9 million will be invested in summer Olympic sports, and £23.5 million will be invested in summer Paralympic sports.
	The funding available for the London Olympic 'cycle' will not be finalised until after the completion of the Beijing games. However in its submission to Government for additional funding for the London Olympic and Paralympic games, UK Sport anticipated investing around £400 million in its WCPP between 2009-13.

Elite Sports

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in raising the £100 million from private sponsors for elite sports announced in the 2006 Budget; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Government, supported by UK Sport, is in the process of exploring a number of options to raise £100 million from the private sector to help support our most talented athletes. We have held recent discussions with a number of representatives from the private sector to help us develop these options.
	We have also discussed the options with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) to ensure that these options do not conflict with its objective to raise funds from the private sector to help stage the games in 2012.

Free Television Licences

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people in Hemsworth constituency received a free television licence in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: TV Licensing, which administers free television licences for people aged 75 or over as agents for the BBC, is not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, the number of households with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in the Hemsworth constituency in 2005-06 was 5,080, according to Department for Work and Pensions records.

Gambling

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the extent of the availability of dedicated treatment, counselling and advice for problem gamblers; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: Any person who seeks help from the NHS for a gambling problem will be offered support, and if necessary, treatment to help them overcome their addiction. There are also a number of specialised addiction services outside the NHS, some of which are dedicated to the prevention of problem gambling and treatment of problem gamblers. The charity GamCare, runs a 24-hour helpline and provides face-to-face counselling. Its services are open to all problem gamblers, and makes special provision for women, such as female-only group counselling.

Gambling

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department holds any data on the prevalence of problem gamblers in different age groups; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The National Prevalence Survey conducted in 1999 found that young adults aged 16-44 exhibited an above average rate of problem gambling and older people, aged 45 and above, below average rates. However, the numbers of problem gamblers in each age group were small and the differences between them may not be statistically significant. The Gambling Commission is conducting a further prevalence study and will report in September 2007.

Gambling

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions her Department has held with the Department of Health about gambling addiction; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: My Department has regular discussions with the Department of Health on a number of issues including joint action on tackling gambling addiction.

Gambling

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the prevalence of gambling addiction; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The current estimate is that 0.6 per cent. of the adult population of Great Britain are problem gamblers. This figure is drawn from the most recent authoritative research: Kerry Sproston, Bob Erens and Jim Orford, "Gambling Behaviour in Britain: Results from the British Gambling Prevalence Study" (National Centre for Social Research, June 2000).

Gambling

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of services designed to tackle problem gambling.

Richard Caborn: I am confident that those organisations dedicated to the prevention and treatment of problem gambling are providing an effective service for those seeking help. The Department of Health has made an assessment of the level of provision within the NHS and is confident that all those seeking help are receiving support and if necessary treatment.

Gambling

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department is planning an awareness campaign highlighting the problem of gambling addiction prior to implementation of the Gambling Act 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: We work closely with the Responsibility in Gambling Trust (RIGT), which is funded by the gambling industry to raise awareness of problem gambling, and to commission treatment, prevention, education and research into problem gambling. I understand the trust intends to raise the public awareness of problem gambling in a number of ways over the coming months, and we will continue to support it in that aim.
	The trust has brought together the Gambling Commission, the Department of Health, DCMS, academics, industry and GamCare to help advise on a campaign which will start this year with two objectives: first, to let the public know where they can access help services, and secondly, to let the public have well- publicised access to information on how to make informed consumer choices and avoid developing gambling addictions.

Olympics 2012

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to name regional training facilities for the 2012 Olympics.

Richard Caborn: Responsibility for coordinating training camps lies with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).
	LOCOG is putting together a 'Pre-Games Training Camp Guide' in which facilities in the UK that have been selected as providing a suitable training environment are listed by location and by sport.
	LOCOG has released details on their website, inviting expressions of interest from potential host facilities. Applications can be made on the London 2012 website:
	www.london2012.com/trainingcamps.
	Submissions must be made by 31 January 2007. Applications will initially be assessed locally with selection coordinated by each nation and region. A proposed list of facilities will then be submitted to LOCOG for final selection. This guide will be the primary means of informing National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) when choosing where to stage their pre-Games preparation camps for 2012. The guide will be distributed to NOCs and NPCs in July 2008.
	It will ultimately be the choice of individual NOCs and NPCs as to whether they want to stage pre-training camps for their athletes, and where those training camps will be.

Olympics 2012

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the revised Olympic budget will be published; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 29 January 2007
	The budget for the Olympic Delivery Authority for the next financial year will be finalised in March. The overall budget is currently under discussion within Government and with other stakeholders and will be published in due course.

Sponsorship: Taxation

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received from UK sports bodies on the tax position of overseas sportsmen and sportswomen in regard to the tax paid in the UK on their endorsement and sponsorship income; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: I have not received any recent representations from UK sports bodies on the tax position of overseas sports stars in regard to the tax paid in the UK on their endorsement and sponsorship income. However, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club recently raised this matter with me and I have asked my officials to consider this in more detail.
	If a non-resident visiting sportsperson carries out a relevant activity in the UK, they are liable to UK income tax on all directly or indirectly connected payments, including endorsement and sponsorship income.

Tourism

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of tourist visits abroad made by UK nationals in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 January 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the number of trips abroad made by UK nationals in each year since 1997. (111874)
	Visits made abroad by UK residents are estimated from data collected on the International Passenger Survey (IPS). The survey is conducted at all major airports, and on major sea and tunnel routes. The data collected are weighted up to national estimates provided by CAA and BAA, Department for Transport, Eurotunnel and Eurostar. Note that it is normal for the IPS to quote results about UK residents (as published) rather than nationals.
	
		
			  Number of visits by UK residents abroad, 1997 to 2005 
			   Visits (Thousand) 
			 1997 45,957 
			 1998 50,872 
			 1999 53,881 
			 2000 56,837 
			 2001 58,281 
			 2002 59,377 
			 2003 61,424 
			 2004 64,194 
			 2005 66,441 
		
	
	Provisional figures for 2006 will be available from 7th February 2007.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much her Department spent on advertising with  The Guardian newspaper, including online, in the last year for which figures are available.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office spent a total of £3,123.15 on advertising with  The Guardian newspaper in financial year 2005-06.

Antipodean Co-ordination

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what co-ordination occurs between the British high commissions in Australia and New Zealand on common matters affecting the region; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: There is close contact between our high commissions in Wellington and Canberra on common matters affecting the region. In addition, there is close liaison between our high commissions in the Pacific (Suva, Port Moresby and Honiara) and their Australian and New Zealand counterparts. Officials also have close contact with the New Zealand Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade. Officials in London meet regularly with the New Zealand and Australian high commissions.

Bermuda Regiment

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects the next fitness for role inspection review into the Bermuda Regiment to be carried out; if she will ensure that the next review is programmed far enough ahead to allow full Bermuda police service and BFS participation, as recommended in Colonel Baxter's report of 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The next inspection is expected to take place in the autumn of 2007. Full Bermuda police service and Bermuda fire service participation is being included.

EU: Migration and Refugees

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the legal base is for budgeted EU expenditure of €9,900,000 in 2007 on the European Agency for the Management of Operational Co-operation at the External Border.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the member states of the European Union (FRONTEX) was established by Council regulation (EC) No 2007/2004; its legal basis is articles 62(2)(a) and 66 of the treaty establishing the European Community. The budget for 2007 is €35 million of which €4.3 million has been put into reserve.

EU: Migration and Refugees

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the legal base is for budgeted EU expenditure of €60,000,000 in 2007 on the European Refugee Fund.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	The legal basis for the European Refugee Fund (ERF II) is article 63(2)(b) of the treaty establishing the European Community. Council Decision 2004/904/EC established the European Refugee Fund (ERF II) for the years 2005-10.
	The ERF will allocate €68.1 million to member states in the year 2007, of which €8.1 million will be allocated to the United Kingdom.

EU: Migration and Refugees

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the legal base is for budgeted EU expenditure of €3,000,000 in 2007 for the European Migration Monitoring Centre.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	The European Migration Monitoring Centre is the name of the budget line that finances what is now called the European Migration Network. There is no legal framework as yet. So far, it has been financed under the Commission's powers for preparatory actions.

EU: Migration and Refugees

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the legal base is for EU expenditure of €70,200,000 in 2007 on ARGO and the EU Fund for the Integration of Third Country Nationals.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	The legal basis for ARGO is articles 62, 63 and 66 of the treaty establishing the European Community. Council Decision 2002/463/EC established the ARGO programme amended by Council Decision 2007/867. The total budget for activities in 2007 is €5.4 million. We expect the Commission to notify member states of the projects shortlisted in spring 2007 and will know then how much of the budget has been awarded to the UK at that stage.
	The legal basis of the Integration Fund is article 63(3)(a) of the treaty establishing the European Community. The Integration Fund has not yet been formally adopted. The budget for 2007 has not been determined yet.

Hajj Pilgrimage

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British nationals died while on the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia in each of the last 10 years, broken down by cause of death.

Kim Howells: We cannot provide definitive figures for the cause of death of those British nationals who died while on the Hajj in the last 10 years, as we only have records of those cases since 2001 in which consular assistance has been sought and these do not record the cause of death. Our records, since 2001, of the numbers of British nationals who died while performing the Hajj are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006 11 
			 2005 15 
			 2004 11 
			 2003 20 
			 2002 22 
			 2001 20 
		
	
	During the most recent Hajj, we are aware of 11 British pilgrims who died of natural causes. We are also aware of a further three who died as a result of a coach crash on 9 December 2006 while en route from Medina to Mecca.

Hajj Pilgrimage

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions her Department has had with Muslim groups regarding the support offered to British nationals undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Kim Howells: Since 2000, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has worked in partnership with leading representatives of national Muslim organisations on the Hajj Advisory Group (HAG) to organise the annual British Hajj delegation. The HAG includes members of the Muslim Council of Britain, Islamic Cultural Centre, Association of British Hujjaj, Union of Muslim Organisations and The World Federation of Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities.
	The FCO meets regularly with the HAG to discuss how to offer support to British pilgrims performing the Hajj pilgrimage.

Hajj Pilgrimage

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the assistance provided by her Department to British Muslims who undertake the Hajj pilgrimage.

Kim Howells: Since 2000, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has worked in partnership with leading representatives of national Muslim organisations on the Hajj Advisory Group to organise the annual British Hajj Delegation (BHD). The BHD is based in Mecca during the Hajj season and provides medical, pastoral and consular assistance to British Muslims at the time of the Hajj. We are the only Government in the EU to offer this kind of service.
	For the most recent Hajj, the BHD included eight volunteer doctors (who ran a medical clinic) and three FCO officials, and was led by my noble Friend Lord Patel of Blackburn. The BHD provided 'on the ground' medical and consular services to the British pilgrims who were performing the Hajj. The medical clinic supported 4,834 patients in total over the 24 day period. The BHD provided essential assistance following a coach crash on 9 December 2006 near the town of Rabigh in which British citizens were killed and injured. Some of the injured later visited the clinic and were assisted by the doctors and consular officials on the BHD, who were able to provide them with consular assistance.

Lebanon

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Lebanese Government on securing the release of Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev and Gilad Scalit; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were abducted by Hizballah in July 2006. We and the EU have repeatedly called for the immediate release of these two Israeli soldiers. Our ambassador in Beirut raised the issue several times with the Government of Lebanon. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister reiterated the UK's call for the immediate release of the prisoners with Prime Minister Siniora and the Heads of the Lebanese parliamentary committees when he visited Lebanon in September 2006.
	We support efforts to secure the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Scalit, captured by Palestinian militant groups in June 2006. We have not discussed this issue with the Government of Lebanon. We have, however, discussed it with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

Lebanon

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Israeli Government on securing the release of Lebanese citizens being held without trial in Israel; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have held discussions with Israeli Government officials about the issue of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel.
	The UK also supported United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 of 11 August 2006, which brought about the end of the summer 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The resolution recognised the sensitivity of the issue of Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel in the context of establishing lasting peace and stability.

Lebanon

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the United Nations on securing the release of  (a) Israeli citizens held in Lebanon and  (b) Lebanese citizens held in Israel; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 of 11 August 2006, which brought about the end of the summer 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, recognised the urgent need to secure the unconditional release of abducted Israeli soldiers, and to settle the issue of Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel. The resolution, which the UK worked hard to bring about, encouraged efforts aimed at resolving these issues. The UN regards this as a top priority, and is conducting delicate negotiations with the parties. We have regularly encouraged the UN to maintain this sense of urgency. We hope to see progress soon. We continue to stay in touch with the Governments of Israel and Lebanon about the issue of prisoners.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Chevrolet Electric Car

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has had discussions with representatives from General Motors on the development of the Chevrolet Volt electric car.

Margaret Hodge: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, has not had any direct discussion with General Motors on the Volt electric vehicle concept. However, as one would expect, officials from the Department have discussed the Volt vehicle as part of their regular dialogue with the company.

Credit Reference Agencies

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many credit files on consumers are held by credit reference agencies in the UK; how many of these show a record of bankruptcy against a particular consumer; and how long the record of bankruptcy remains on a consumer's credit file after discharge from bankruptcy.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I am unable to state how many credit files on consumers are held by credit reference agencies in the UK or how many of these show a record of bankruptcy against a particular consumer, as this information is not maintained by the Department.
	On the advice of the director general of fair trading, credit reference agencies may retain information about county court judgments on file for up to six years. This period is not arbitrary but rather based upon legislation such as the Limitations Act 1980, which sets limits for various types of legal action. We are advised by the main agencies that information pertaining to an individual's bankruptcy is now also held for six years.

Credit Reference Agencies

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many credit files on consumers held by credit reference agencies in the UK show a record of an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) against a particular consumer; and how long the record of IVA remains on a consumer's credit file after the period for its completion has ended.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I am unable to state how many credit files on consumers held by credit reference agencies in the UK show a record of an IVA against a particular consumer as this information is not maintained by the Department.
	On the advice of the director general of fair trading, credit reference agencies may retain information about county court judgments on file for up to six years. This period is not arbitrary but rather based upon legislation such as the Limitations Act 1980, which sets limits for various types of legal action. The two largest credit agencies, Equifax and Experian, operate a similar policy with regard to IVAs and also typically retain information for a period of six years.

Dispute Resolution

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether  (a) his Department and  (b) Ofgem have any plans to require energy suppliers to become members of alternative dispute resolution schemes which can investigate complaints on behalf of small business consumers; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The existing level of regulatory protection in respect of gas and electricity broadly reflects that in general consumer law. It is open to Ofgem to consider whether additional regulatory protection, including the introduction of alternative dispute resolution schemes, is required. I understand that the chairman of Ofgem will write to my hon. Friend about the information she has sought.

Doha Round

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what response he has made to the calls from the Association of South-East Asian Nations for the resumption of the Doha Round; and what representations he has made to the EU Trade Commissioner on the Doha Round.

Ian McCartney: We welcomed the statement on the importance of the DDA and the commitment to complete the negotiations made by the Association of South-East Asian Nations at the meeting of their Economic Ministers in August 2006, as we have welcomed similar statements made by other parties to the negotiations. Following the ASEAN statement, I met a number of the ambassadors of the ASEAN nations in the UK to discuss trade and economic issues in September 2006. That was followed by a decision by the Secretary-General of ASEAN on 4 December 2006.
	The Government remain fully committed to securing an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). In order to achieve this objective, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, other ministerial colleagues and I have had regular contacts with the EU Trade Commissioner.

Doha Round

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the EU Trade Commissioner on the likely success of the Doha trade round.

Ian McCartney: The Government remain fully committed to securing an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). In order to achieve this objective, myself, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and other ministerial colleagues have had regular contacts with the EU Trade Commissioner.

Engineering: Africa

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with engineering companies on the opportunities for doing business in Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 27 November 2006
	The Department has assisted over 4,600 British companies working in Africa during the past 12 to 18 months through its range of services. This figure includes providing substantive assistance to over 150 companies working in engineering field. We help British companies develop their export strategy, provide support and advice on market entry, advise on local customs, and assist in finding a local partner, dealing with red tape and understanding ways of doing business. Working with our stakeholders we arranged 65 inward missions and 62 outward missions, to African countries in recent years includingSouth Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Libya. Our ambassadors/high commissioners and senior government officials have helped British companies in their efforts to secure contracts in Africa by extensive lobbying with Ministers and officials.
	Through our services, we have supported UK engineering firms dealing in a range of multiple industrial projects including roads, bridges, dams, major oil and gas exploration, construction of power plants and infrastructure projects throughout the whole of Africa.
	The UKTI 'Online Market Introduction Service' has helped some of our small to medium-sized engineering firms (SMEs) to bid for sub-contracts to supply specialist support to multi-national organisations. Examples of the service and products these companies provide are:
	Flexible pipeline and sub-sea production solutions using an engineering-based approach to reuse flexible pipes,
	Engineered solution to pipeline pigging and flow assurance products,
	Wind power development, and
	Geophysics software development.
	UK companies are in many cases major investors in Africa, including Angola, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Algeria and Egypt. We are particularly strong in the oil and gas sector where investment, including oil field development, over the next 10 years will exceed $50 billion.
	UK ambassadors/high commissioners across Africa are in constant discussions with Ministers and senior government officials, to promote British expertise and knowledge. Paul Boateng, high commissioner in South Africa only last week met UK companies to discuss doing business in South Africa. The Duke of York visited Egypt in 2005, and had meetings with the President and Ministers. He also opened the BG Group $1.9 billion LNG project. My predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley, South (Ian Pearson), met with British investors in Libya to discuss the challenges they face and how they were doing business in the market.
	 Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
	Under the Cotonou Agreement, signed in Benin in 2000, 77 African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries receive non-reciprocal trade access to the European Union. Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) will replace Cotonou on 1 January 2008. EPAs will be compatible with WTO rules and are being negotiated by the European Commission on behalf of the EU.
	EPAs will be designed to deliver long-term development, economic growth and poverty reduction in all ACP countries. The UK Position Paper of March 2005 states that we will not pursue any offensive interests and that we believe that developing countries can benefit from liberalisation in the long run, provided they have the economic capacity and infrastructure they need to trade competitively.
	UK Ministers and officials continue to work hard to influence the debate in member states, the European Commission and the European Council, and to improve the development dimensions of EPAs.

Lancaster and Morecambe Vision Board

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what ongoing role the Lancaster and Morecambe Vision Board has following the production of the economic vision for Lancaster and Morecambe.

Margaret Hodge: The ongoing role of the Lancaster and Morecambe Vision Board is a matter for the board and Lancaster city council. I understand that the city council is considering how the Vision Board may support the achievement of local economic development objectives in the context of the economic vision and the local community strategy.

Low-Carbon Buildings Programme

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the merits of making funding available to agricultural businesses under the Low-Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 (Stream 2A).

Malcolm Wicks: The environmental guidelines under which the Low-Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 Stream 2 has been approved, do not apply to aid that is covered by the Community's guidelines for state aid in the agriculture sector. The agriculture guidelines apply to all state aids granted:
	"in connection with activities related to the production, processing and marketing of agricultural products".
	State aid rules therefore only allow for agricultural sites to submit grant applications for property used for private residential purposes.

Low-Carbon Buildings Programme

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date domestic grant funding under phase 1 of the 2006-09 Low-Carbon Buildings Programme will finish.

Malcolm Wicks: We currently have a total pot of £12.7 million for the Low-Carbon Buildings Programme phase 1 household stream, which on projected demand levels should allow householder funding to continue until June 2008. By this time, some of the wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold, and we believe the sector may have matured to a point where householder grants are no longer necessary.

Low-Carbon Buildings Programme

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department will increase the three year budget for domestic renewable energy installations under phase 1 of the Low-Carbon Buildings Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: On 25 October 2006, we announced that £6.2 million of the total £28.5 million funding for phase 1 of the Low-Carbon Buildings Programme would be re-allocated to the household stream giving a total pot of £12.7 million. There are no plans to increase funding.

Low-Carbon Buildings Programme

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the domestic stream of the Low-Carbon Buildings Programme continues to meet householder demand until 2009.

Malcolm Wicks: We announced on 25 October 2006 that we would be re-allocating £6.2 million of the total £28.5 million funding of the Low-Carbon Buildings Programme phase 1 to the household stream. This will give a total pot of £12.7 million, which on projected demand levels should allow householder funding to continue until June 2008. This is being achieved by transferring the bulk of public sector projects to the Low-Carbon Buildings Programme phase 2, where £50 million is being made available to support projects in the public and not for profit sectors. In addition, we are reviewing grant levels in consultation with key stakeholders and have introduced monthly allocations.
	By June 2008, some of the wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold, and we believe the sector may have matured to a point where householder grants are no longer necessary.

Ministerial Visits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date he agreed to accompany the Chancellor on his trip to India in January.

Ian McCartney: The primary purpose of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's visit to India was to represent the UK at annual ministerial meeting of the UK/India Joint Economic Trade Committee (JETCO) in January 2007. This obligation was in place when my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State took over the Trade and Industry brief on 5 May 2006.
	It was confirmed that these visits would coincide for one day only of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and my right hon. the Friend Secretary of State's respective 3-day programmes on 11 December 2006.

North-West Regional Development

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1616-17W, on north west regional development, for what purpose the pre-development funding for Morecambe Vision Board for 2007-08 has been allocated.

Margaret Hodge: NWDA is considering the request for £95,000 of pre-development funding. £50,000 of this sum is to provide continued capacity support for the Vision Board and £45,000 is a contribution towards a study into an integrated transport solution for the district to be carried out by Lancashire county council. NWDA will be reviewing the role and purpose of regional Vision Boards during 2007.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the decommissioning assets of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will be put out to competition.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 15 January 2007
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) will compete the management and operation of its sites in line with the competition schedule set out in its approved strategy. The introduction of competition is necessary to stimulate improved performance and to bring in new ideas and experience to the clean-up of the historic civil nuclear legacy. The NDA's competition schedule takes into account the Government's decision to enable the sale through a competitive process of the British Nuclear Group and Magnox Electric Ltd. The NDA competition schedule is as follows:
	
		
			  Start competition process  Sites competed 
			 2006 Low-Level Waste Repository (LLWR) 
			   
			 2007 Sale of BNG 
			  Sellafield (including Calder Hall/Capenhurst and Windscale) 
			   
			 2008 Magnox South (Berkeley, Bradwell, Dounreay, Dungeness A, Hinkley Point A, Sizewell A). 
			   
			 2009 Magnox North (Chapelcross, Hunterston A, Oldbury, Trawsfynydd, Wylfa) 
			  Harwell/Winfrith 
			   
			 Other Culham and Springfields subject to further review 
		
	
	Information on this and other NDA activities is available on the NDA website at:
	www.nda.gov.uk

Nuclear Power Stations

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultations have been held with the public about the building of new nuclear power stations.

Malcolm Wicks: The energy review considered aspects of both energy supply and demand and explored a wide range of options, including the potential future role of nuclear power.
	There were two public consultations as part of this:
	Energy review consultation (January to April 2006)
	Nuclear policy framework consultation (July to October 2006).

Nuclear Power Stations

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the height above sea level is of the nuclear power facility sites at  (a) Hunterston B,  (b) Heysham 1,  (c) Heysham 2,  (d) Dungeness B,  (e) Hinkley Point B,  (f) Hartlepool,  (g) Torness and  (h) Sizewell B.

Malcolm Wicks: The height above sea level of the nuclear facilities referred to is as follows:
	
		
			   metres 
			  (a) Hunterston B 7.47 
			  (b) Heysham 1 8.25 
			  (c) Heysham 2 8.85 
			  (d) Dungeness B 5.5 
			  (e) Hinkley Point B 10.25 
			  (f) Hartlepool 4.75 
			  (g) Torness 11.35 
			  (h) Sizewell B 6.40

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the Office of Fair Trading to publish its report on the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Under the Enterprise Act, OFT is an independent competition authority, and the date of publication is a matter for it. Its website indicates it will publish during the first quarter of 2007. The Government will respond to the report in due course following its publication.

Retail Energy Market

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what regular monitoring is carried out by  (a) his Department and  (b) Ofgem to assess whether there is sufficient competition in the retail energy market for small business consumers.

Malcolm Wicks: The Office of Gas and Electricity Market (Ofgem) is responsible for the regulation of gas and electricity supply, including the monitoring of the competitive market. I understand that the chairman of Ofgem will write to my hon. Friend about the information she has sought.

Seal Products

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will consider a ban on the import of seal products.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 29 January 2007
	The Government are currently conducting a review of their position on this issue and hope to be able to make a ministerial statement shortly.

Smart Metering

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact of smart metering on domestic energy consumption;
	(2)  if the Government will publish an action plan indicating how it plans to implement article 13 of the Energy Services Directive on smart metering, following the conclusion of the current metering and billing consultation.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answers 26 January 2007
	The Government will take any further decisions about metering and billing—including any measures that might be required to implement article 13 of the Energy Services Directive—in the light of responses to their current consultation and of other discussions with interested parties. Trials of smart meters and other devices, which the Government are co-funding with supplier-led consortia, will also begin shortly. These trials will test a range of approaches to encouraging consumers to reduce energy consumption.

Street Markets

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the role of street markets in ensuring competition in the food industry;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on local street markets of the market position of large supermarkets;
	(3)  what steps his Department is taking to support and develop the role of local street markets; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how many certificates were issued by police authorities to pedlars in each of the last 10 years;
	(5)  how many street trading licences were issued by local authorities in each of the last 10 years;
	(6)  how many complaints local authorities received about the activities of illegal street traders in each of the last 10 years.

Ian McCartney: Competition in the grocery sector is a matter for the independent competition authorities and not the DTI.
	I understand that the Competition Commission's current investigation into the groceries market in the United Kingdom is looking at local competition issues, including the degree of competition between multiple retailers and local grocery retail businesses, as part of its overall inquiry. The Competition Commission is required to publish its final report by May 2008 although it plans to publish before this date. The CC would like to hear from all interested parties, in writing. To submit evidence, please email: groceries@cc.gsi.gov.uk or write to: The Inquiry Secretary (Groceries Market Investigation), Competition Commission, Victoria House, Southampton Row, London WC1B 4AD.
	The Department currently has responsibility for policy on the street trading provisions of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 which provides local authorities with powers to regulate street trading. However, it is for local authorities to consider how best to support and develop local street markets in the interests and to the benefit of their local communities.
	Statistics on how many pedlars certificates were issued by Chief Officers of Police under the Pedlars Act 1871 are not collected centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
	Statistics on the number of street trading licenses issued by local authorities that have adopted the street trading provisions of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, and statistics on the number of complaints local authorities receive which might be attributable to the activities of illegal street traders are not collected centrally. Assuming this information is collected by local authorities, it could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Trading Relations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value was of  (a) exports from the UK to Tanzania and  (b) imports to the UK from Tanzania in the last period for which figures are available.

Ian McCartney: In 2005, UK exports of goods to Tanzania amounted to £71.5 million, while UK imports of goods from Tanzania amounted to £36.3 million.

UK Trade and Investment

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which UK overseas missions are due to receive more UK Trade and Investment employees; and whether these staff will be engaged on  (a) export promotion and  (b) the promotion of foreign direct investment into the UK.

Ian McCartney: In keeping with the commitment to increase resource in the emerging markets in UK Trade and Investment's strategy 'Prosperity in a Changing World' published in July 2006, resource in UKTI's overseas network is being redeployed to provide additional staff for UKTI activity in Brazil, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Dubai, Mexico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Vietnam and Russia. Resource has also been redeployed within some developed markets to ensure the UKTI effort is appropriately focused on areas within these markets offering the greatest potential for UK companies.
	All redeployed staff will be engaged on either export promotion or the promotion of foreign direct investment into the UK, or both, depending on the opportunities afforded by the market.

UK-India Business Council

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether there are plans for the establishment of a UK-India Business Council.

Ian McCartney: There are no plans to establish a UK-India Business Council.
	Following the recommendation of the Trade and Industry Committee on Trade with India (June 2006) that the Indo-British Partnership Network (IBPN) "should become the de facto Indo-British Chamber of Commerce", the Government are committed to increasing their support of the IBPN. In the coming financial year, UK Trade and Investment will provide funds of up to £1 million to increase the scope and scale of the work of the IBPN, which will be match-funded by private sponsorship, membership fees and revenue generated by the provision of IBPN services.

Wood Supplies

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on UK wood supplies for large-scale use as fuel of the introduction of the Large Combustion Plant Directive in 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department does not consider that the Large Combustion Plant Directive is a significant factor affecting the use of biomass for energy generation, or the operation of the wood panel industry. That industry has, however, expressed concern about co-firing.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Retirement Age

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 189-90W, on the retirement age, what his Department's policy is on the application of the national default retirement age to staff below the senior civil service.

Paul Goggins: Under the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, there is a default age of retirement but this does not affect the right of staff to retire from minimum pension age, which is age 60.
	Staff who wish to work beyond the default retirement age of 65 may apply to do so, though it may not be possible in every case to approve such an application. Factors taken into account when assessing an application include ongoing staffing pressures, changing business needs and the normal performance and attendance requirements applied to all NIO staff.
	Given the timescales involved in the normal retirement process, a set of transitional arrangements will apply to retirements taking place between October 2006 and March 2007.
	Anyone retiring on or after 1 April 2007 will be subject to the full retirement procedure as stated in the regulations.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Abortion Act

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted for offences under the Abortion Act 1967 in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 26 January 2007
	Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of persons proceeded against for the offence of procuring illegal abortions under the Offences against the Person Act 1861 as amended by the Abortion Act 1967, are provided in the attached table.
	Court proceedings data for offences of breach of regulations under the Abortion Act 1967 are not available as they are collected as a part of a miscellaneous group of offences which cannot be separately identified.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against for procuring illegal abortions under the Offences against the Person Act 1861 as amended by the Abortion Act 1967 England and Wales 2001-2005( 1,2) 
			   Proceeded against 
			 2001 1 
			 2002 3 
			 2003 3 
			 2004 2 
			 2005 1 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis  (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source:  RDS - Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders issued to residents of  (a) Peterborough constituency and  (b) Cambridgeshire were breached in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 25 January 2007
	ASBO breach statistics are available at Criminal Justice System area level only. The available information is given in the following table.
	
		
			  The number of antisocial behaviour orders issued at all courts in the Cambridgeshire Criminal Justice System (CJS) area( 1)  that were subsequently proven in court( 2)  to have been breached, for orders issued between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2005 (latest available) 
			   Number breached( 3)  at least once in each year by the end of 2005 
			 2001 2 
			 2002 2 
			 2003 11 
			 2004 9 
			 2005 9 
			 (1) There were 95 ASBOs issued between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2005. As reported to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform by the Court Service. (2 )Breaches are counted irrespective of where in England and Wales the breach proceedings took place. (3 ) Source: OCJR Court Proceedings Database.  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

British Citizens: Convictions Abroad

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information was given to the Association of Chief Police Officers when they bid to become the UK central authority for the exchange of criminal records on outstanding notifications from other countries of British citizens who had committed crimes abroad.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 16 January 2007
	The latest available information was set out in my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January.
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has asked for an urgent operational response involving ACPO, CRB, Prisons and Probation in order to clear the backlog of overseas convictions notifications. My right hon. Friend has asked the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office to set up an inquiry into the Home Office's handling of these notifications. This will include a chronology of events, the practices and procedures in place at different times, whether appropriate action was taken and the lessons to be learned.

British Citizens: Convictions Abroad

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the outstanding notifications from other countries of British citizens who committed crimes abroad were  (a) notified and  (b) passed to the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 16 January 2007
	The latest available information was set out in my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January.

Child Sex Offenders

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to prevent convicted child sex offenders from being employed as school bus drivers.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 29 January 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	We are currently consulting on draft school transport guidance. This states that local authorities should ensure that the authority's employees or employees of contractors whose duties involve a high level of contact with children or vulnerable adults are subject to enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checks. This should include bus drivers and escorts.
	The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 introduces a new Vetting and Barring Scheme which will be launched in autumn 2008. Under it, school bus driver and escort post holders will be regulated meaning that anyone employed in these roles must be monitored under the scheme.

Correspondence

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to letters from the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire of 6 September and 19 October on the subject of unsatisfactory replies to parliamentary questions.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 30 January 2007
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 30 January.

Crime Statistics: Somerset

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were charged with  (a) possession of illegal drugs and  (b) possession with intent to supply in Somerset in each of the last 10 years, broken down by basic command unit area; and how many of those charged (i) were found guilty and (ii) were under the age of 18 years.

Vernon Coaker: Information on charging for these offences is not centrally available. Details about court outcomes and the age of drug offenders are only available at police force level.

Criminal Justice Act

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted murderers have been sentenced since the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 25 January 2007
	Section 269 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which relates to the determination of a minimum term in relation to mandatory life sentences, came into force on 18 December 2003, and figures reported to the Home Office show that 766 persons were sentenced for murder between that date and 31 December 2005, the latest date for which sentencing information is currently available.
	Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile these figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Consequently, although figures are shown to the last digit in order to provide a comprehensive record of the information collected, they are not necessarily accurate to the last digit shown.

Criminal Records Backlog

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his oral statement of 10 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 285-86, on the criminal records backlog, on what date the first enquiry about notifications was made by his Department or the Association of Chief Police Officers to a notifying country in order to obtain further details to establish the identities of the 280 offenders referred to.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 15 January 2007
	The latest available information was set out in my right hon. friend the Home Secretary's statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January.

Criminal Records Backlog

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his oral statement of 10 January 2007, how many of the 525 British nationals convicted abroad of serious offences have been convicted of offences in the UK subsequent to their conviction abroad; how many of these subsequent convictions have resulted in a custodial sentence; and what steps he has taken to ascertain such information.

Tony McNulty: The latest available information was set out in my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January.

English Language Skills

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any individuals seeking to move to the UK to marry have been refused entry for not meeting the required level of English language skills.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 23 January 2007
	There is no requirement to demonstrate English language skills on entry and so the question of entry being refused on this basis does not apply. We will however introduce a test of English language skills at settlement from 2 April this year. These will require applicants for settlement to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the English language and of life in the UK. Those who have moved to the UK to marry will therefore have to meet this requirement if they apply.

Escape Histories

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether  (a) sentencing judges and magistrates,  (b) prison governors and  (c) probation officers are given details of an offender's previous history of escapes, attempted escapes or absconds from prison.

John Reid: Details of an escape or attempted escape from custody which led to a conviction are available to sentencers along with all other recorded convictions. Records of an offender's custodial history, including escapes, attempted escapes and absconds, are available to governors. These records may be accessed by probation staff upon request.

Identity and Passport Service

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the maximum distance individuals will have to travel in order to register their biometric details at an Identity and Passport Service office.

Joan Ryan: We are not yet in a position to determine the exact number and location of offices that will be used for enrolling biometrics.
	The number and location of offices for biometric enrolment will utilise, and build upon, our estate of 69 Identity and Passport Service (IPS) Interview Offices that are currently being rolled out nationwide. We will be seeking to supplement only those existing buildings that are unable to deal with the predicted future number of applicants to be enrolled.

Identity Theft

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make identity theft a criminal offence; and what representations he has received on trends in identity theft.

Joan Ryan: The criminal law contains a range of offences to tackle crime related to fraudulent use of identity and the Government have no plans to introduce a new criminal offence of identity theft. In the Entitlement Cards and Identity Fraud Consultation Paper, published in July 2002, we invited views on whether an offence of identity fraud should be created. Following the consultation period, the law was changed to align the maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment for fraudulently obtaining a driving licence with that for fraudulently obtaining a passport. The offences were also made arrestable.
	The Fraud Act 2006, which came into force on 15 January 2007, created a new offence of fraud that can be committed in three ways: by making a false representation (dishonestly, with intent to make a gain, cause a loss or risk of loss to another); by failing to disclose information; and by abuse of position. New offences were also created of obtaining services dishonestly, possessing equipment to commit frauds, and making or supplying articles for use in frauds.
	The Identity Cards Act 2006 created new offences relating to possession, control and intent to use false identity documents, including a genuine document that relates to someone else. These offences came into force on 7 June 2006 and apply to all identity documents, including identity cards to be issued under the national identity scheme. Other documents include UK passports, immigration documents and driving licences, as well as driving licences, passports and identity cards issued by other countries.
	We have received a number of parliamentary questions, including ones from the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle, asking about numbers of offences, convictions and victims of identity theft and identity fraud.

Illegal Street Traders

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions against illegal street traders there were in each of the last 10 years.

Ian McCartney: I have been asked to reply.
	Statistics on the number of prosecutions, which might be attributable to the activities of illegal street traders, are not collected centrally. Assuming this information is collected by local authorities, it could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Internet Crime

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the extent of crime associated with the use of electronic communication and the internet.

Liam Byrne: The Government's written evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Inquiry into Personal Internet Security sets out our best assessment of internet crime. For example:
	IBM has stated that one in every 52 emails in January and one in 28 emails in June 2005 were affected with malicious content;
	In 2004, total losses from online banking fraud were recorded for the first time and reached £12.2million (APACS 2005);
	In 2005, online banking fraud grew to £23.3m, an increase of 90 per cent. from 2004;
	The 2003-04 British Crime Survey found that 27 per cent. of adults who used the internet at home reported their computer had been affected by a virus (a third of those reported the computer had been damaged) in the previous 12 months;
	2 per cent. of adults who used the internet at home reported their computer had been accessed or hacked into files on their home computer in the previous 12 months.

Magistrates Courts

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) sittings took place and  (b) cases were heard in Llandrindod Wells and Brecon magistrates courts in each year since 2001.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	Information about the number of sittings and the number of cases heard in Llandrindod Wells and Brecon magistrates courts is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Motoring Offences

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions of uninsured drivers of motor vehicles there were in  (a) Morecambe and Lunesdale and  (b) Lancashire in each year between 2003 and 2006.

Vernon Coaker: Data are not available at constituency level.
	Available information taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, for the Lancashire police force area, from 2003-04 (latest available) is provided in the table.
	2005 data will be available later this year. Data for 2006 will be available in the early part of 2008.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 1) , within Lancashire police force area, 2003-04 
			  Number of offences 
			   2003( 2)  2004 
			 Total proceedings 21,229 16,065 
			 (1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2) (2 )As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes:  1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is underway to ensure that the magistrates courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated.  2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of his Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether he plans to increase the use of open source software in his Department.

Liam Byrne: The choice of software to meet the business needs of the Home Office now largely rests with its strategic IST suppliers who are contracted, largely under the Private Finance Initiative (and PPP arrangements), to meet business requirements and provide value for money solutions, including the consideration of open source solutions. In the main, the Home Office no longer chooses specific software. This factor, combined with the large number of computer systems operated by the Department prevent us from providing percentage figures for the number of systems in which open source software is used and planned.
	Within our business requirements the Home Office ensures that any technical choices should meet relevant Government software standards and provide for interoperability with our public and business partners. Currently this does not include the extensive use of open source software.

Parliamentary Questions

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will provide a substantive reply to question 104193, tabled by the hon. Member for New Forest, East for named day answer on 29 November 2006; and what the reason is for the time taken for a response.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 23 January 2007
	I replied to the hon. Member on 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1690W.

Police

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is collected about complaints made against police community support officers.

Tony McNulty: The Independent Police Complaints Commission is an independent body responsible for the management of the police complaints system. I will ensure that the chairman receives a copy of the question and replies to the hon. Gentleman directly. Copies of the letter containing the IPCC's response will be placed in the House Libraries.

Police Patrols

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to carry out a review of the effectiveness of the function of police patrol.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 26 January 2007
	Research has found that random patrol had no impact on crime rates or on calls for service. Targeted patrol of crime hotspots was found to have an impact. Furthermore there is some evidence of a positive impact on crime and confidence in officers who had higher levels of doorstep contact with the community, rather than contact through patrol. There is a growing evidence base to suggest that patrol, as part of a neighbourhood policing strategy, is effective in its impact on crime, perceptions of crime and antisocial behaviour, feelings of safety, and public confidence in the police.
	The Home Office's evaluation of the national reassurance policing programme was published in January 2006 and provides strong evidence of the impact of neighbourhood policing. A copy is available in the Library of the House. The roll-out of neighbourhood policing is due to be complete by April 2008. Ongoing Home Office research will evaluate its impact on police performance, and the results will be published in due course.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for East Yorkshire (Mr. Knight) of 11 January 2007,  Official Report, column 658W, on prisons, how many years' experience the previous head of operations at HM Prison Pentonville had working in operations departments at prison establishments; at what grade this experience was gained; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The previous head of operations had six years' prison service experience. It is not appropriate to provide further personal information. The reply referred to above made it clear that those appointing the previous head of operations considered that they had sufficient experience for the post.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were assessed on reception into prison as having literacy and numeracy skills below level one at each prison establishment; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: holding answer 15 January 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not collected centrally. However, the most recent Home Office statistics show that 37 per cent. of prisoners had reading skills below level 1, 43 per cent. had numeracy skills below level 1, 46 per cent. had spelling skills below level 1 and 62 per cent. of prisoners had punctuation skills below level 1. (Prison Statistics for England and Wales 2002).

Public Order

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders were breached in Essex in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 20 December 2006
	The available information is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of persons breaching( 1)  their antisocial behaviour order where the order was proven to have been breached in an Essex court( 2) , for orders issued between 1 June 2000 and 31 December 2005 (latest available) 
			   Persons breaching their ASBO in the Essex CJS area 
			 2001 — 
			 2002 1 
			 2003 2 
			 2004 29 
			 2005 70 
			 (1) Persons are counted according to whether they breached their ASBO in a particular year. Hence a person may be counted more than once in the table. (2) Breaches of ASBOs in Essex are counted irrespective of where in England and Wales the proceedings to issue the ASBO took place  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  OCJR Court Proceedings Database.

Regional Crime Squads

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reintroduce regional crime squads.

Tony McNulty: There are no plans to reintroduce regional crime squads.

Russian Federation Visitors

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether new passport and immigration controls are being considered on visitors from the Russian Federation.

Liam Byrne: No changes are planned to immigration control in relation to visitors from the Russian Federation following the alleged poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko.

Seat Belts

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists were prosecuted for not wearing seat belts in each of the last five years, broken down by police authority.

Vernon Coaker: Available information taken from the Court Proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, from 2000 to 2004 (latest available) is provided in the table. As the majority of seat belt offences are dealt with by the issue of a fixed penalty notice these are also included.
	2005 data will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Proceedings( 1)  at magistrates courts and fixed penalty notices issued( 2)  for seat belt offences( 3) , by police force area, England and Wales, 2000-04 
			  Number of offences 
			   2000  2001  2002 
			  Police force area  Total court proceedings( 1)  Total number of fixed penalties( 2)  Total court proceedings( 1)  Total number of fixed penalties( 2)  Total court proceedings( 1)  Total number of fixed penalties( 2) 
			 Avon and Somerset 102 4,360 97 4,240 98 3,420 
			 Bedfordshire 37 3,841 33 2,584 50 3,022 
			 Cambridgeshire 73 1,639 45 1,082 51 1,082 
			 Cheshire 68 3,229 45 2,838 41 2,257 
			 Cleveland 87 1,653 84 1,197 88 1,255 
			 Cumbria 145 1,360 117 1,282 120 1,677 
			 Derbyshire 84 3,535 73 3,118 93 3,236 
			 Devon and Cornwall 118 5,588 112 4,288 115 5,011 
			 Dorset 32 4,959 32 3,171 45 1,884 
			 Durham 89 3,146 54 3,079 46 2,876 
			 Essex 125 6,734 78 4,438 65 4,389 
			 Gloucestershire 25 1,393 31 1,431 22 1,171 
			 Greater Manchester 706 10,241 577 8,485 423 8,107 
			 Hampshire 209 4,246 222 5,252 179 5,278 
			 Hertfordshire 81 3,639 87 2,942 65 3,014 
			 Humberside 81 3,963 106 3,158 73 1,666 
			 Kent 54 4,707 69 4,720 48 4,511 
			 Lancashire 348 9,787 302 5,458 298 6,511 
			 Leicestershire 102 2,086 70 2,025 68 1,764 
			 Lincolnshire 64 2,359 60 2,386 36 1,407 
			 London, City of 5 186 10 146 8 298 
			 Merseyside 261 2,831 297 2,022 323 0 
			 Metropolitan Police 630 6,270 629 8,322 713 10,590 
			 Norfolk 62 3,547 79 4,221 53 2,723 
			 Northamptonshire 15 1,245 5 1,619 3 736 
			 Northumbria 281 3,952 197 6,815 188 5,748 
			 North Yorkshire 58 1,293 69 1,996 30 1,644 
			 Nottinghamshire 83 1,391 49 908 34 476 
			 South Yorkshire 135 5,782 131 5,880 83 4,376 
			 Staffordshire 61 2,212 54 738 43 949 
			 Suffolk 65 1,423 50 1,524 52 1,057 
			 Surrey 88 5,696 132 4,540 73 1,685 
			 Sussex 85 5,349 72 6,278 52 2,870 
			 Thames Valley 174 7,142 162 7,806 114 4,974 
			 Warwickshire 49 881 39 675 31 508 
			 West Mercia 116 2,266 82 1,799 101 1,929 
			 West Midlands 310 3,411 279 2,837 264 2,602 
			 West Yorkshire 236 4,484 243 4,190 171 5,439 
			 Wiltshire 78 3,047 54 2,056 57 2,042 
			 Dyfed-Powys 48 1,617 46 2,140 66 2,026 
			 Gwent 61 3,288 57 2,814 34 2,215 
			 North Wales 55 2,533 43 4,572 61 5,842 
			 South Wales 154 2,990 120 3,319 137 2,152 
			 England and Wales 5,740 155,301 5,193 144,391 4,715 126,419 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			   2003  2004 
			  Police force area  Total court proceedings( 1)  Total number of fixed penalties( 2)  Total court proceedings( 1)  Total number of fixed penalties( 2) 
			 Avon and Somerset 69 2,966 80 3,309 
			 Bedfordshire 38 2,118 32 3,477 
			 Cambridgeshire 33 1,693 36 2,215 
			 Cheshire 34 2,133 29 4,780 
			 Cleveland 42 1,613 45 2,429 
			 Cumbria 119 1,212 105 2,121 
			 Derbyshire 103 3,703 99 4,308 
			 Devon and Cornwall 97 3,689 90 3,395 
			 Dorset 36 1,447 29 1,269 
			 Durham 34 2,016 35 1,733 
			 Essex 77 4,540 129 9,950 
			 Gloucestershire 13 1,174 16 1,216 
			 Greater Manchester 363 5,034 280 9,111 
			 Hampshire 174 6,083 160 7,206 
			 Hertfordshire 61 5,065 88 7,624 
			 Humberside 110 1,657 109 1,978 
			 Kent 66 4,308 59 4,212 
			 Lancashire 308 5,854 230 6,558 
			 Leicestershire 78 2,338 70 1,914 
			 Lincolnshire 46 4,195 85 7,783 
			 London, City of 16 209 25 1,082 
			 Merseyside 399 1,893 404 4,791 
			 Metropolitan Police 1,025 16,165 1,459 19,233 
			 Norfolk 46 1,788 36 2,012 
			 Northamptonshire 7 721 9 640 
			 Northumbria 131 4,921 120 6,253 
			 North Yorkshire 49 2,299 45 3,339 
			 Nottinghamshire 40 1,279 43 1,371 
			 South Yorkshire 67 3,901 69 6,343 
			 Staffordshire 42 1,173 62 3,500 
			 Suffolk 46 1,528 49 2,621 
			 Surrey 61 3,845 73 4,187 
			 Sussex 37 1,665 27 1,488 
			 Thames Valley 186 9,717 186 15,914 
			 Warwickshire 25 992 24 1,071 
			 West Mercia 74 3,147 96 6,363 
			 West Midlands 244 4,161 258 9,966 
			 West Yorkshire 295 8,394 352 8,643 
			 Wiltshire 66 2,844 52 3,656 
			 Dyfed-Powys 73 1,628 22 1,066 
			 Gwent 38 2,424 21 2,744 
			 North Wales 43 4,688 61 6,106 
			 South Wales 79 3,074 93 2,937 
			 England and Wales 4,990 145,294 5,392 201,914 
			 (1) May include cases where a fixed penalty notice was originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court. (2) Paid i.e. no further action. (3) Offences under the Road Act 1988 ss. 14 (3) and 15 (2) and (4). (Driver and passenger offences cannot be separately identified).  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is under way to ensure that the magistrates courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drugs liaison officer posts there were at the Serious Organised Crime Agency at  (a) its establishment and  (b) in each year since.

Vernon Coaker: On 1 April 2006, SOCA inherited a total of 59 drugs liaison officers from precursor agencies. On 1 April 2006, all overseas posts were reclassified as general crime, or SOCA liaison officer, posts.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions overtime payments for intercept teams in the Serious Organised Crime Agency were  (a) made and  (b) refused in the last 12 months; and for what reasons payments were refused.

Vernon Coaker: This is an operational matter for SOCA.

Smoking Ban

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to his Department was of enforcing a smoking ban in 2005-06; and what the cost of providing support to staff wishing to give up smoking was in 2005-06.

Liam Byrne: The cost to the Home Department in 2005-06 of enforcing a smoking ban has been estimated to be approximately £200 for the Home Office Headquarters Estate; the total cost in 2005-06 of providing support to staff wishing to give up smoking was £97.85. These costs do not include the Prison Service as this information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Tasker Investigation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of the investigation conducted by Mr. Ron Tasker in January 2006 into managerial corruption within HM Prison Service and the maltreatment of whistleblowers; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The report has not been completed and therefore the full cost of the investigation has not been calculated. The report is now due to be completed in mid-February 2007.

Wheel Clamping

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1690W, on wheel clamping, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the licensable Vehicle Immobilising (VI) population in possession of a VI licence; what assessment he has made of the methodology used by the Security Industry Authority in estimating the total licensable VI population; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Security Industry Authority's operational experience suggests that within the vehicle immobilising industry there is a high level of compliance with the licensing requirements of the Private Security Industry Act 2001.
	It was estimated that there were approximately 1,200 wheel clampers working on private land in England and Wales prior to the introduction of regulation in May 2005. However, this sector of the private security industry is believed to be subject to a rate of turnover and other staffing changes of between 20 and 25 per cent. per year. The licensable sector has also been increased by the introduction of a licensing requirement for those involved in related activities such as towing away or blocking in vehicles and collecting payment. On 24 January, there were 1,508 valid VI licences. The SIA publishes full statistical details of licensable sectors on its website at:
	http://www.the-sia.org.uk/home/licensing/stats_2.htm

Wheel Clamping

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations his Department has received on the activities of private sector wheel clampers; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: During the second half of 2006 the Home Office received about 50 items of ministerial correspondence and three written parliamentary questions about the regulation of vehicle immobilisers. These included correspondence accepted on behalf of the Department for Transport and the Department of Trade and Industry. Most correspondence related to business practices, such as signage and fees, that are not governed by the Private Security Industry Act 2001 or the Road and Traffic Acts.

Wheel Clamping

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the efficacy of the law on theft and extortion in relation to private sector wheel clampers who remove vehicles from private land.

Vernon Coaker: There are currently no plans to review the law on theft and extortion in relation to vehicle immobilisers operating on private land in England and Wales.

Yarl's Wood

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children aged  (a) under five years,  (b) five to 12 years and  (c) 13 to 16 years passed through Yarl's Wood detention centre in the last 12 months; what accommodation is provided for children detained at Yarl's Wood; and what opportunities are offered for (i) play, (ii) physical activity, (iii) education and (iv) counselling.

Liam Byrne: I am advised that the number of children under 16 years of age who passed through Yarl's Wood removal centre in the last 12 months was 1,271. The age groups are broken down as follows: under four years, 618, 5 to 11 years, 442 and 12 to 16 years, 211.
	Dedicated family rooms are provided to ensure that family members are not separated and, as far as practicable within the constraints of detention, are able to maintain family life. A crèche is available for under fives and is open seven days per week. Schooling is provided for children aged five to 16 years Monday to Friday. Activity classes are laid on in the sports hall each day and there is also an outside playground and sports courts. There is a youth worker and a youth club which opens seven days per week. A counsellor and a social worker are on site Monday to Friday as well as a full-time Children's Service Manager.

Young Offender Institutions

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders were assessed on reception into custody as having literacy and numeracy skills below level one at each young offender institution; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: holding answer 15 January 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not collected centrally. However, the most recent Home Office statistics show that 39 per cent. of prisoners in young offender establishments had reading skills below level 1, 46 per cent. had numeracy skills below level 1, 48 per cent. had spelling skills below level 1 and 60 per cent. of prisoners in young offender establishments had punctuation skills below level 1. (Prison Statistics for England and Wales 2002).

WALES

Committees: Ministerial Attendance

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what occasions  (a) he and  (b) departmental Ministers have been requested to appear before committees of (i) devolved institutions and (ii) the European Parliament since 2004; on what topic in each case; how many and what proportion of such requests were accepted; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: I have not been requested to appear before a committee of the National Assembly for Wales, Scottish Parliament or the European Parliament. I do, however, address the Plenary of the National Assembly for Wales, on the Queen's Speech at the beginning of a new parliamentary Session.
	My Under-Secretary will be appearing before the Education and Lifelong Learning and Skills Committee of the National Assembly for Wales on 1 February 2007 to give evidence on the Further Education and Training Bill. He was also invited to appear before the Education and Lifelong Learning Committee in the Assembly on 25 March 2006 to discuss legislation, but unfortunately was unable to do so, due to diary commitments.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Executive Agencies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which executive agencies are the responsibility of his Department; what the function is of each agency; and what the budget was of each agency in the most recent year for which figures are available.

John Prescott: None.

External Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which external consultants were used by  (a) his Office and  (b) each of its agencies in relation to private finance initiatives in 2005-06; and what the nature and cost of the work was in each case.

John Prescott: For information relating to financial year 2005-06, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Angela E. Smith) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government on 18 January 2006,  Official Report, column 1318W.

Government Auctions

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister where his Office publishes information about Government auctions which it arranges or to which it contributes in  (a) Blackpool,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) the north west; and when the next such auction will take place in each area.

John Prescott: My Office does not arrange any Government auctions.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many people enrolled in adult and community learning programmes in Shropshire in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many adults participated in further education in Shropshire in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: Figures for those participating in both adult and community learning (ACL) and further education (FE) can be derived from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR). The ACL ILR was collated for the first time in 2003-04 but reliable and consistent figures are only available from 2004-05. The FE ILR was collated for the first time in 2002-03 and figures are presented from that time. The following table shows the total number of learners in Shropshire local learning and skills council (LSC) area for both ACL and FE based on the home postcode of the learner. For FE, the figures show all learners, irrespective of whether the course is subsidised by the LSC (the substantial majority), but also learners on full-cost recovery courses and those who draw funding from other bodies, such as the European social fund or local authorities. ACL providers are not required to submit ILR data on non-LSC funded learners, so the figures shown may exclude some who either pay fees themselves or are funded by other means.
	
		
			  Total number of learners Shropshire local LSC area 
			   FE  ACL 
			 2002-03 38,507 n/a 
			 2003-04 38,929 n/a 
			 2004-05 36,972 3,110 
			 2005-06 30,747 4,750 
			  Note: Figures rounded to nearest 10.

Apprenticeships

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of the total training costs of an advanced apprenticeship or similar level 3 vocational qualification will be publicly funded for  (a) 16 to 18,  (b) 18 to 25 and  (c) over 25-year-olds as part of the Government's planned extension of learning entitlements to level 3 vocational qualifications.

Phil Hope: The entitlement to free tuition for a first full level 3 qualification for young adults aged between 19 and under 25 when they start their learning will be introduced from the start of the 2007/08 academic year. The introduction of the new entitlement will still mean that apprentices of any age are not asked to make a contribution to the costs of their training. The funding to learning providers for the delivery of advanced apprenticeships to 16 to 18-year-old learners will continue to be met fully from public funds. However, the rates payable to learning providers for apprenticeships for those aged 19 or above are reduced by up to 50 per cent. of the 16 to 18 rate to reflect the lower costs of training for older learners and an assumed contribution by employers.
	For individuals undertaking learning at level 3 outside the apprenticeship programme, the funding to further education learning providers for 16 to 18-year-old learners will continue to be met fully from public funds. This will also be the case for adults aged 19 and under 25 who are eligible for the level 3 entitlement. Adults aged over 19 and under 25 who are not eligible for the level 3 entitlement or any of the other fee remission categories will be expected to make a contribution to their learning of 37.5 per cent. in 2007/08. Adults aged 25 and over who are not eligible for any fee remission category will also be expected to make a contribution to their learning of 37.5 per cent. in 2007/08. By 2010, the learner contribution will rise to around 50 per cent., this is in line with the principle that individuals and employers should contribute to costs in line with their ability to pay and the benefits they receive.

Apprenticeships

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of apprenticeship and advanced apprenticeship places provided an employer-based mentor for the apprentice in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: The Learning and Skills Council does not require employees or training providers to return data about mentors. To do so would increase the administrative burden surrounding apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2007,  Official Report, column 556W, on apprenticeships, if he will break down the figures by  (a) region,  (b) industrial sector,  (c) sex and  (d) whether or not the apprenticeships were at advanced level in each case.

Phil Hope: The following table A reproduces the success rates for apprenticeship courses for 2001/02 to 2004/05 as per that shown in the answer of 9 January 2007:
	
		
			  Table A—national apprenticeship success rates 
			  England 
			   Percentage 
			 2001/02 24 
			 2002/03 27 
			 2003/04 31 
			 2004/05 40 
		
	
	The following two tables break down these figures by region and also into apprenticeships at level 2 (table B) and advanced apprenticeships (table C):
	
		
			  Table B—success rates for apprenticeships at level 2 broken down by region 
			  Percentage 
			  Region  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05 
			 North East 24 23 30 41 
			 North West 20 24 29 40 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 25 25 31 40 
			 East Midlands 24 25 31 41 
			 West Midlands 23 25 33 42 
			 East 20 25 30 40 
			 London 13 18 20 31 
			 South East 22 21 29 40 
			 South West 28 29 35 46 
			 Not known 18 18 23 29 
			 National total 22 24 30 40 
		
	
	
		
			  Table C—success rates for advanced apprenticeships broken down by region 
			  Percentage 
			  Region  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05 
			 North East 31 36 33 37 
			 North West 27 33 34 38 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 28 31 33 37 
			 East Midlands 25 33 32 39 
			 West Midlands 24 32 34 40 
			 East 25 31 32 36 
			 London 20 26 26 29 
			 South East 23 28 27 35 
			 South West 33 35 38 43 
			 Not known 23 29 27 28 
			 National total 26 32 32 38 
		
	
	The following tables categorise the apprenticeship courses into the subject types, the closest approximation available to Industry Sectors. The figures for 2001/02 to 2003/04 are described in terms of areas of learning, the classification used by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) during that period. In 2004/05 the LSC adopted a new classification created by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) in order to harmonise the categorisation of qualifications across relevant education agencies and bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Figures for 2003/04 are shown recalculated in terms of the new Subject Sector Area (SSA) classification, while figures for 2004/05 are exclusively categorised in terms of SSAs.
	Note, figures are suppressed where for a particular subject type less than 50 learners finished a course in that year, in line with LSC reporting standards covering both statistical disclosure rules designed to protect learner confidentiality, and also due to the inherent volatility of statistics based on very small numbers of learners.
	The following table D shows success rates for apprenticeships at level 2 broken down by area of learning for 2001/02 to 2003/04, table E shows equivalent figures for advanced apprenticeships:
	
		
			  Table D—success rates for apprenticeships at level 2 broken down by area of learning 
			  Percentage 
			  Area of learning  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04 
			 Science and Mathematics * * * 
			 Land based provision 26 32 36 
			 Construction 24 18 25 
			 Engineering, Technology and Manufacturing 19 24 30 
			 Business administration, Management and Professional 26 31 40 
			 Information and Communication Technology 46 46 52 
			 Retailing, Customer Service and Transportation 19 22 30 
			 Hospitality, Sports, Leisure and Travel 19 19 26 
			 Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy 26 30 36 
			 Health, Social Care and Public Services 15 15 17 
			 Visual and Performing Arts and Media 22 21 28 
			 Humanities * * * 
			 Not Known * * * 
			 National total 22 24 30 
		
	
	
		
			  Table E—success rates for advanced apprenticeships broken down by area of learning 
			  Percentage 
			  Area of learning  2001/02  2002/03  2003/04 
			 Science and Mathematics 36 * * 
			 Land based provision 24 29 39 
			 Construction 38 30 27 
			 Engineering, Technology and Manufacturing 35 45 43 
			 Business administration, Management and Professional 25 31 35 
			 Information and Communication Technology 31 42 50 
			 Retailing, Customer Service and Transportation 16 20 24 
			 Hospitality, Sports, Leisure and Travel 19 24 22 
			 Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy 22 31 35 
			 Health, Social Care and Public Services 22 26 24 
			 Visual and Performing Arts and Media 31 35 35 
			 Humanities * * * 
			 Not Known * * * 
			 National total 26 32 32 
		
	
	The following table F show success rates for apprenticeships at level 2 broken down into sector subject areas for 2003/04 to 2004/05; equivalent figures for advanced apprenticeships are shown in table G:
	
		
			  Table F—success rates for apprenticeships at level 2 broken down by SSA 
			  Percentage 
			  Sector subject area  2003/04  2004/05 
			 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 36 43 
			 Arts, Media and Publishing 31 24 
			 Business, Administration and Law 37 47 
			 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 25 40 
			 Education and Training * * 
			 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 30 43 
			 Health, Public Services and Care 16 32 
			 History, Philosophy and Theology * * 
			 Information and Communication Technology 51 50 
			 Languages, Literature and Culture * * 
			 Leisure, Travel and Tourism 26 35 
			 Preparation for Life and Work * * 
			 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 29 40 
			 Science and Mathematics * * 
			 Social Sciences * * 
			 Not known 57 8 
			 National total 30 40 
		
	
	
		
			  Table G—success rates for advanced apprenticeships broken down by SSA 
			  Percentage 
			  Sector subject area  2003/04  2004/05 
			 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 40 39 
			 Arts, Media and Publishing 35 36 
			 Business, Administration and Law 31 42 
			 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 39 46 
			 Education and Training * * 
			 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 38 46 
			 Health, Public Services and Care 24 22 
			 History, Philosophy and Theology * * 
			 Information and Communication Technology 49 56 
			 Languages, Literature and Culture * * 
			 Leisure, Travel and Tourism 38 28 
			 Preparation for Life and Work 20 15 
			 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 21 24 
			 Science and Mathematics * 53 
			 Social Sciences * * 
			 Not known * 6 
			 National total 32 38

Carbon Emissions

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when his Department began to measure its carbon emissions; what the volume of those emissions was in the last period for which figures are available; when his Department started to offset those emissions; what the cost is expected to be of offsetting his Department's emissions in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: DFES first measured carbon emissions in 1999/2000 within its headquarters use of utilities as part of a DEFRA Energy return. Carbon emissions for business vehicle use were first measured in 2002/03 as part of the Sustainable Development in Government return. Carbon emissions for official and ministerial air travel were first measured in 2004/05.
	DFES carbon emissions for 2004/05 are available for:
	(a) Headquarters office estate utilities—2,730,107 kg's;
	(b) Headquarters business use vehicles—204,244 kg's; and
	(c) DfES Official and Ministerial air travel—147,994 kg's
	DFES started to offset its carbon emissions on official and ministerial air travel in April 2006.
	DFES expects its first years' contribution for April 2006 to March 2007 to the official and ministerial air travel carbon offsetting fund, to cost £2,960.

Careers Advice

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of careers advisers employed by schools in each year between 1996-97 and 2005-06, broken down by school type.

Jim Knight: holding answer 25 January 2007
	The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Information from the November 2002 sample survey the Secondary Schools Curriculum and Staffing Survey (SSCSS) shows an estimated 1,500 full-time teachers in secondary schools were providing careers education, delivering an estimated 10,000 lesson periods of careers education.

Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much and what percentage of the annual budget of the Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service was spent on  (a) bonuses,  (b) entertainment and  (c) training of staff in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Parmjit Dhanda: These are matters for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). Anthony Douglas, the Chief Executive, has written to the hon. Member with this information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Anthony Douglas, dated 19 January 2007:
	Parliamentary Questions Concerning CAFCASS
	I am writing to you in response to the parliamentary question that you tabled recently:
	PQ 116707—How much and what percentage of the annual budget of the Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service was spent on  (a) Bonuses  (b) Entitlement and  (c) training in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
	The following results have been taken from the 2005/06 figures for which the accounts have been audited.
	
		
			   Budget  Actual  % of Budget 
			 2005/06 Annual Budget 100,847,754.00  100 
			  (a) Performance Related Bonuses  33,714.25 0.03 
			  (b) Salaries  63,926,285.75 63 
			 (c) Training  646,000.00 0.64

Child Asylum Seekers

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans his Department has to help local authorities with large numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeker children in care recruit extra fostering capacity.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government fund several initiatives to support the recruitment of foster carers: we fund foster care fortnight, which raises the profile of fostering. In 2005-06, we began funding a two year project to identify innovation in foster care recruitment.
	In 2004 DFES produced a pack to help local authorities run targeted local campaigns to recruit new foster carers. Last year, we introduced a new national minimum allowance for foster carers, to help ensure that no foster carer is out of pocket as a result of caring for a looked after child or young person.
	The 'Care Matters' Green Paper sets out further proposals to make fostering more attractive to potential carers and makes clear our intention to invest in locally delivered campaigns to recruit foster carers from a range of diverse backgrounds. We will incorporate specialist professional development options on caring for asylum seeking children within the training framework proposed in 'Care Matters'.

Child Asylum Seekers

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department has made an assessment of the effects of the presence of points of entry in a local authority on the numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeker children that authority has the responsibility to care for.

Parmjit Dhanda: I am aware from Home Office figures that unaccompanied asylum seeking children make applications both at ports of entry and, in the majority of cases, subsequently 'in-country' at Immigration and Nationality Department offices. Of the approximately 3,000 applications made in 2005, approximately 15 per cent. are made at points of entry and 85 per cent. are made 'in-country'. The effect of this has been that the majority of such children are located in London and the South East of England.

Child Asylum Seekers

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the unaccompanied asylum seeker children leaving care costs grant determination for local authorities with large numbers of asylum seeker care leavers following the issue of DFES circular 2005-15 and circular 2006-1.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department has recently made payments in respect of the 2005-06 former unaccompanied asylum seeking children care leavers grant, totalling in excess of £13 million. As provided for by the terms of the grant, those authorities supporting larger numbers of care leavers have received larger payments, in accordance with the number of young people supported by them, which has been the policy intention underpinning the grant since its first inception in 2004-05.

Child-in-need Assessments

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department has instructed local authorities to put out to tender the provision of  (a) statutory assessments of young carers under the Children Act 1989 and  (b) other statutory child in need assessments required under the Act.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department does not instruct local authorities to put out to tender either statutory assessments of young carers made under the Children Act 1989 or other statutory children in need assessments.

Curriculum Online Content Advisory Board

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on how many occasions the Curriculum Online Content Advisory Board has met since March 2006.

Jim Knight: The Curriculum Online Content Advisory Board has met twice since March 2006. It met in December 2006 and January 2007.

Departmental Studies

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which studies have been commissioned by his Department from  (a) external agencies,  (b) companies,  (c) academics and  (d) individuals in 2006.

Alan Johnson: A complete answer to this question could be supplied only at disproportionate cost as the Department does not maintain a central record of all studies commissioned.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people  (a) applied for and  (b) received an education maintenance allowance in 2006.

Phil Hope: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate education maintenance allowances for the DFES and hold the information about take-up of the scheme. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 30 January 2007:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question 117467 that asked; "How many people (a) applied for and (b) received an education maintenance allowance in 2006."
	During the 2005/06 academic year 506,901 young people in England applied for an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).
	During the 2005/06 academic year 429,627 young people in England enrolled and received one or more EMA payment.
	I hope you find this information useful. If you would like further details please contact Shubana Nawaz at the LSC National Office on 0114 2074534 or shubana.nawaz@lsc.gov.uk.

Educational Attainment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school leavers in England at key stage 4 have left with  (a) no,  (b) one,  (c) two,  (d) three,  (e) four and  (f) five passes in recognised qualifications since 1979.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not available for all years since 1979. The figures requested since 1997 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number( 1)  of 15-year-olds( 2)  achieving no. one, two, three, four, and five passes at GCSE and equivalent in each year since 1997 
			  Number of A*-G grades at GCSE and equivalent  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006( 3) 
			 None 45,100 38,400 35,600 32,900 33,600 33,300 32,500 26,600 23,200 29,800 
			 One 10,200 10,200 19,000 16,700 10,100 9,800 8,700 10,000 10,300 10,400 
			 Two 6,900 6,600 12,100 11,000 7,000 7,200 7,300 8,300 8,300 8,500 
			 Three 7,700 7,100 16,100 16,400 7,300 7,500 8,100 8,500 8,800 9,100 
			 Four 9,800 8,900 8,300 8,400 9,500 9,600 10,300 10,800 11,100 11,300 
			 Five 13,800 12,500 11,200 10,900 13,100 13,200 14,300 14,300 14,700 14,400 
			 Five or more 507,579 504,800 519,600 521,300 536,300 539,600 550,800 571,400 567,000 580,000 
			 Cohort size 586,800 575,200 581,000 580,400 603,300 606,600 622,100 643,600 633,400 645,900 
		
	
	The proportion of 15-year-olds achieving one or more passes and five or more passes at GCSE and equivalent in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage of 15-year-olds( 2)  achieving at least one and at least five passes at GCSE and equivalent in each year since 1997 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006( 3) 
			 5 or more A*-G grades at GCSE and equivalent 86.4 87.5 88.5 88.9 88.9 88.9 88.8 88.8 89.0 89.4 
			 1 or more A* G grades at GCSE and equivalent 92.3 93.4 94.0 94.4 94.5 94.6 94.8 95.9 96.4 96.7 
			 (1 )Figures are given to the nearest 100. (2 )Pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year, i.e. 31 August. (3 )2006 figures are revised. Figures for other years are final

Engagements

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on what dates Ministers in his Department and its predecessors made official visits to the London boroughs of  (a) Tower Hamlets,  (b) Newham and  (c) Waltham Forest in each year since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

English Language Teaching

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on  (a) fee remission and  (b) other areas to provide English for speakers of other languages in each of the last five years; and how much is expected to be spent in each of the next three years.

Phil Hope: Since 2001, English for speakers of other languages has been delivered as part of the skills for life strategy. In that period, funding has tripled and almost 1.9 million learners have been supported in improving their skills. English language skills are essential for those people coming to the UK to seek refuge, to settle and to work and the Government intend to maintain its commitment to fund ESOL and to invest in improvements in the teaching and learning infrastructure.
	This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. Mark Haysom the Chief Executive of LSC, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 24 January 2007:
	I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question regarding the funding spent on fee remission and other areas to provide English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) for the last five years and what is expected to be spent in the next three years.
	Currently all ESOL provision is free to eligible learners, so effectively everyone has their fees remitted. I have set out in the following table what the Learning and Skills Council has spent on ESOL over the last five years.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Cost 
			 2000-01 103 
			 2001-02 185 
			 2002-03 235 
			 2000-04 267 
			 2004-05 279 
		
	
	Because of the changes in the funding systems from 2004-05 we are only able to calculate the fee remission element paid to providers for the last two years. In 2004-05 fee element was £37 million and in 2005-06 £44 million.
	The 2005-06 final spend has still to be confirmed but we expect this to be more than £270 million on ESOL provision—just under 14 per cent. of the entire adult budget for that year. This amount is likely to increase by around 13 per cent. to £306 million in 2006-07. A further 5.5 per cent. increase in funding (to £323 million) is estimated for 2007-08.
	From August 2007 automatic fee remission will be withdrawn and while we expect the fees collected to increase it is not possible to calculate how many learners will continue to be eligible for fee remission and therefore not possible to provide fee remission information for the next three years.
	In 'Raising our Game' the LSC makes clear our expectation that spend on ESOL will not reduce, with achievements broadly remaining the same. ESOL remains a priority area for the Learning and Skills Council.

Family Engagement Toolkit

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost was of producing the family engagement toolkit, broken down by  (a) design and production,  (b) printing and  (c) distribution.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Reading Connects family engagement toolkit was produced by the National Literacy Trust on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills as part of the national reading campaign. The toolkit will support schools in reaching out to parents and the wider family and helping them to encourage children to enjoy reading. It contains tried and tested practical ideas to help schools engage effectively with family members and show them how easily they can support their children and how much of a difference they can make.
	The cost of designing and producing the toolkit was £2,704 and a print run of 3,000 copies cost £4,761. The toolkit is downloadable for free from the Reading Connects website www.readingconnects.org.uk and is distributed on request only to all existing Reading Connects schools via second class post at a cost of 49p. All new Reading Connects member schools receive on joining both the family engagement toolkit and the Reading Connects handbook at a combined cost of 68p. In addition, copies of the toolkit will be distributed to new members at conferences, incurring no distribution costs.

Further Education Teachers: Portsmouth, North

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching staff were employed in further education colleges in Portsmouth, North in each year between 2001 and 2005.

Bill Rammell: Staff numbers in further education (FE) are recorded on the Staff Individualised Record (SIR) which is compiled by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Figures are available disaggregated by local LSC areas; the following table shows the number of staff in FE in the relevant local LSC (Hampshire and Isle of Wight) identifying staff whose primary role is classed as either 'Teaching and Learning' or 'Support Teaching and Learning'. Figures are given for 2001/02 to 2004/05; the LSC will publish results for 2005/06 on their website when the data are available, likely to be at some point in March 2007.
	
		
			  Hampshire and Isle of Wight 
			   Teaching and learning staff  Support teaching and learning staff 
			 2001/02 6,091 1,435 
			 2002/03 6,359 1,414 
			 2003/04 6,829 1,614 
			 2004/05 6,469 1,484 
			  Source:  Staff Individualised Record (SIR) for 2001/02 to 2004/05.

Focus Care Initiative

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the Focus Care initiative.

Parmjit Dhanda: I am not aware of a project of this name. However, I understand that Lancashire county council runs a specialist fostering scheme entitled 'Fostering Focus'. The scheme aims to provide highly skilled foster carers able to care for children with the most complex needs.
	The recent Green Paper "Care Matters" sets out the Government's proposal for a tiered model of placement types. The tiered model would be structured around the needs of children, with carers being trained and skilled to a greater or lesser degree depending on the needs of the child. The principle behind Lancashire's 'Fostering Focus' scheme is consistent with such an approach and I welcome the steps which local authorities are taking to ensure that children are placed with carers who have the skills, training and ability to meet their individual needs.

Foundation Stage Profile

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the cost to  (a) schools,  (b) Early Years settings and  (c) local education authorities of (i) compiling and (ii) publishing the Foundation Stage Profile national results.

Beverley Hughes: We have not estimated the cost to schools and Early Years settings of compiling the Foundation Stage Profile because this forms part of their duty to monitor the progress of each child and plan for the next stage of his or her learning and because it replaced the Baseline Assessment in 2003. There is no cost to schools, Early Years settings or local authorities of DFES publishing the foundation stage national results.

Foundation Stage Profile

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received on the Foundation Stage Profile national results; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: We have not received any representations on the Foundation Stage Profile national results.

Geography A-level

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of geography A-level coursework achieved a grade of between A and C during the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The Department for Education and Skills does not hold the information required to answer the question.

Geography A-level

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what consultation there has been with maintained schools on the abolition of coursework for geography A-level students;
	(2)  when his Department expects to abolish coursework for geography A-level students;
	(3)  what representations he has received on plans to abolish coursework for geography A-level students.

Jim Knight: In June 2006, QCA provided advice to Government on the future of coursework in different subjects. In the advice, QCA stated that they had held a number of seminars where teachers, head teachers, nominees from local authorities, subject associations, subject experts, the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and fellow regulatory authorities, were all in attendance.
	Geography will still include coursework, but instead of the current teacher set and marked arrangements, it will be replaced by controlled assessments. These changes will be introduced in September 2009.
	The Secretary of State has received representation from a wide range of stakeholders, including subject associations and subject experts. They express a wide range of views on the best way forward for the geography A-Level. QCA will work with partner organisations and teachers, to ensure that the new controlled assessment elements are rigorous and manageable.

Information Sharing Index Project

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether a privacy impact assessment  (a) has been produced and  (b) is planned for the information sharing index project.

Beverley Hughes: We have not produced a privacy impact assessment for the information sharing index and have no plans to do so. Our preferred approach is to develop an ongoing systematic engagement of children, young people and parents, both at national and local levels, throughout the index implementation to ensure that any concerns about privacy are addressed and that the benefits that the index will bring are explained.
	It is important that children, young people and their families have confidence in the way the index handles data and protects their privacy. That is why the data held on the index will be minimal, will contain no case information and will not be used to make any automated assessment of risk. Contrary to what some recent media coverage has suggested, there will be no subjective opinions or observations about a child or their parents.
	The index will simply provide a tool to support better communication among practitioners. It will help practitioners identify a child with whom they have contact, and whether that child is getting the universal services (education, primary health care) to which they are entitled. It will enable them to contact one another more quickly and easily than they can now.
	The national index communications strategy and plan and those developed by local authorities emphasise the importance of engaging with children, young people and parents to raise awareness and understanding of the index. Since May 2006, Triangle, an independent organisation, has engaged a Children and Young People's Reference Group in a key programme of work to share their views on the index and inform its development. The group commented on the draft Information Sharing Index (England) Regulations 2007 as part of the public consultation that closed on 14 December 2006. One third of the 254 responses came directly from children, young people and parents. Focus groups facilitated by the British Youth Council and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (comprised of approximately 300 children and young people and 70 parents/carers) have also participated. A number of local authorities also held local/regional events to gather the views of children, young people, parents and front- line practitioners, and submitted responses on their behalf.
	We remain confident that the index is a justified and proportionate measure to improve outcomes for all children.

Information Sharing Index Project

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent representations he has received on the introduction of a national information sharing index for children; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: We have recently held a public consultation on the draft Information Sharing Index (England) Regulations 2007. The regulations, once in force, will provide a legal framework for the operation and maintenance of the information sharing index. The consultation, which concluded on 14 December 2006, attracted 254 responses, one-third of which came directly from children, young people and parents.
	Almost one-fifth of the responses came from local authorities. There were also responses from health, education, social care, police, voluntary and community sector and representative bodies. A number of local authorities held local/regional events to gather the views of children, young people, parents and front-line practitioners, and submitted responses on their behalf.
	Also, as part of the consultation, we commissioned a number of organisations that work with children and young people to seek their views. The responses from Triangle, the British Youth Council and the Commission for Social Care Inspection represent the views of just under 300 children and young people. These were submitted as combined responses from each group. We also commissioned Triangle to seek the views of parents and carers. This single response represented the views of over 70 parents and carers.
	Throughout the index project we continue to meet with numerous strategic and front-line stakeholders, and have set up a number of advisory groups to help inform the development of the index.
	We are currently analysing the responses from the consultation and will publish an official Government response and summary statistical report in the spring, when the Regulations will be laid before Parliament. When the response and report are available, my officials will be happy to send the hon. Member a copy.

Learning and Skills

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much the Learning and Skills Agency spent on programme expenditure in Canterbury local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: The programme expenditure incurred by the Learning and Skills Council at Local Authority level is not collected by the Department. This is an operational matter for the LSC as they determine the level of funding required at local level to deliver their key priorities and targets. Mark Haysom, the Council's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member with further information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 26 January 2007:
	Further to your recent question to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills asking how much the Learning and Skills Agency spent on programme expenditure in Canterbury local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available. I can provide the following response.
	The Learning & Skills Council (LSC) records expenditure on a financial year basis, 1 April to 31 March. Therefore the most recent year for which figures are available is 2005-06.
	The LSC's ledgers record expenditure based upon the boundaries of responsibility of each of the individual learning and skills councils as set out in the Learning & Skills Act 2000. Canterbury falls within the boundaries of the Kent & Medway learning and skills council.
	Regretfully the LSC does not also record expenditure on the basis of local authority boundaries. This would require significant levels of additional information to be captured and prove overly burdensome for learning and training providers, inevitably diverting focus away from the delivery of the priorities we have outlined for the sector in the LSC's Annual Statement: Raising our game((1)).
	In 2005-06 £252.9 million was the LSC's expenditure on programme delivery in the Kent & Medway area.
	In addition it is estimated that £38.3 million was spent on national schemes such as, capital grants, financial support for learners and learndirect provision, which can be attributed to the Kent & Medway area, increasing the total programme expenditure to £291.2 million.
	I hope you find this information useful.
	((1)) Raising our game: Our Annual Statement of Priorities can be accessed via the following URL:http://www.lsc.gov.uk/Aboutus/LSCStrategy/AnnualStatementofPriorities/

Looked-after Children

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what family-based emergency accommodation options are available for children who have run away; and how many such placements there are.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 29 January 2007
	It is the responsibility of local children's services to determine what help young people need when they run away, both with the immediate presenting crisis and with the underlying problems that caused them to run away in the first place. Local children's services are therefore best placed to assess the type and levels of support required, including, where appropriate, accommodation. This could include emergency foster care or short-term placement in a children's home, as well as counselling and mediation services, but the exact mix will vary according to locally determined need.
	No information is available centrally on the current number and breakdown of such placements across the country. The Department is currently working with The Children's Society to assess how far local authorities' services for vulnerable children and young people are providing an effective response to runaways, and will be considering what lessons can be learned for our approach to the issue.

Looked-after Children

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the adequacy of community-based refuges for children and young people who run away; and if he will take steps to ensure that children who run away can  (a) find and  (b) be directed to a safe place to stay with counselling services.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 29 January 2007
	We have commissioned an independent review to summarise the findings from the six DFES community based refuge pilots. We will disseminate the key lessons learned about the adequacy of refuge-based provision and support services to all local authorities, and make it available to all interested stakeholders via the DFES and Every Child Matters websites.
	Local children's services are responsible for identifying, assessing and meeting the needs of vulnerable young people including runaways. They are best placed to provide counselling, mediation and other family-based services including, if appropriate, a safe place to stay.
	We are also working with The Children's Society to assess how far local authority services for young people provide an effective response to runaways, including accommodation, and we will consider how we can incorporate best practice in runaways prevention and support into mainstream local children's services across the country.

Looked-after Children: Education

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children leaving full-time residential care in the last five years had a full-time education place to go to.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 23 January 2007
	Information on the number of children leaving full-time residential care who had a full-time education place to go to is not collected centrally.

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of his Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether he plans to increase the use of open source software in his Department.

Parmjit Dhanda: Use of open source software is growing in the Department but accounts for less than 1 per cent. of the Department's systems.
	New open source systems are being planned for implementation in the Department and this will increase the percentage but only to 1 or 2 per cent.
	The Department will continue to consider open source solutions on an overall value for money basis in accordance with the Government's (2004) policy statement.

Recruitment Agencies

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: Since 1 November 2004, the Department has used a single provider (Adecco). The key requirement of DFES is the provision of temporary administrative and secretarial cover. Agency engagements are kept as short as possible and only used to meet genuine short-term needs with an expected limit of no more than 13 weeks.
	Prior to 1 November 2004, the Department used Brook Street and Manpower employment agencies. To establish costs from these agencies since 1997, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The following table provides costs to the Department of employing agency staff for the previous two financial years. The table also provides costs from April 2006 to date. Costs are borne from general administration expenditure budgets.
	
		
			  Financial year  Agency spend (£) 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 (full year) 2,485,157.51 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 (full year) 2,347,045.23 
			 April 2006 to December 2006 (year to date) 1,866,386.25

Residential Care

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many young people aged  (a) 15,  (b) 16 and  (c) 17 are in residential care.

Parmjit Dhanda: Information on the number of children looked after by a local authority aged 15, 16, and 17 who are in residential care is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of children looked after aged 15, 16, and 17 placed in residential care, at 31 March 2006( 1,2) —England 
			   Age at 31 March 2006 
			  Placement  15  16  17 
			  All children(1) 1,700 1,700 1,500 
			 
			  Secure units, homes and hostels 1,400 1,400 1,200 
			 Secure units 60 30 20 
			 Homes and hostels subject to children's homes regulations 1,300 1,000 550 
			 Homes and hostels not subject to children's homes regulations 50 370 640 
			 
			  Other residential settings 70 110 130 
			 Residential care homes 40 40 30 
			 NHS trust providing medical/nursing care 10 20 20 
			 Family centre or mother and baby unit — 10 10 
			 Young offenders institution or prison 20 40 60 
			 
			  Residential schools 220 150 170 
			 (1) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements. (2) Figures are taken from the SSDA903 return.

Review of Children and Young People

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role the Chairman of the National Youth Volunteering Organisation 'v' is playing in his Department's contribution to the Government's Review of Children and Young People.

Parmjit Dhanda: In developing the discussion document of the Review of Children and Young People, HM Treasury and DFES spoke to and received submissions from awide range of stakeholders. The National Youth Volunteering Organisation 'v' has been engaged with the review at official level but there has been no direct involvement by the chairman.

School Refurbishment

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in Essex were scheduled to be refurbished over the last five years; and how many were refurbished.

Jim Knight: The Department does not keep records on how many schools in Essex were scheduled to be refurbished over the last five years, and on how many were refurbished. This is because decisions on refurbishing or building schools are taken at local authority level. The Department has recently announced that Essex is in wave four of the Building Schools for the Future programme, and this wave will be rolled out in the spending review period commencing 2008-09. This transformational programme will, over its projected life, provide inspirational schools and academies for all secondary school pupils.

School Transport: Disabled Children

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make available subsidy for school transport for disabled children above the age of 16 years in Milton Keynes.

Phil Hope: The Education Act 1996 requires local authorities "to make such arrangements for the provision of transport and otherwise as they consider necessary" for 16 to 19-year-olds to attend educational institutions, this includes consideration of provision for young learners with disabilities. It is for local authorities to decide what arrangements are necessary, paid from their normal core funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government, council tax and any other funding they receive. I understand Milton Keynes council operates a home to school/college subsidised transport scheme for 16 to 18-year-olds, including those with disabilities.

School Uniforms

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what guidance his Department issued on the enforcement of the wearing of school uniforms by those schools that have such uniforms;
	(2)  if he will publish guidance on school uniforms for schools to accompany the forthcoming admissions code.

Jim Knight: holding answer 29 January 2007
	The Department has issued guidance to schools on school uniform and exclusions and I have arranged for copies to be placed in the House Library. We are currently considering whether the school uniform guidance needs updating to cover aspects of the new admissions code and other relevant developments in the law.
	The school uniform guidance explains that head teachers can discipline pupils for breaches of their school's uniform policy.

Schools IT

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much schools in England spent on Microsoft products in each of the last three financial years.

Jim Knight: Information on how much schools in England spent on Microsoft products in each of the last three financial years is not available. It is not collected from schools.
	Confidential information has been made available to Becta by Microsoft in respect of Microsoft's licensing sales to schools. This information is the subject of legally binding non-disclosure arrangements and excludes estimates in relation to Original Equipment Manufacturer licences.

Special Educational Needs

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) statemented children and  (b) children with special educational needs but without a statement were on dual placement in each local education authority in England in each year from 1997 to 2006.

Parmjit Dhanda: The available information has been placed in the Library.
	Information on pupils with dual placement with special educational needs (SEN) was collected from pupil referral units and special schools only between 1997 and 2002. This coverage was extended to other schools from 2003. The information has been presented in two tables covering these time periods separately.

Special Educational Needs

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) statemented special educational needs children and  (b) children with special educational needs but without a statement there were in pupil referral units in each local education authority in each year from 1997 to 2006.

Parmjit Dhanda: The requested information has been placed in the House Library.

Special Educational Needs

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children with special educational needs were statemented in Morecambe and Lunesdale in each of the last three years.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested and comparable data for Lancashire local authority is shown in the table.
	
		
			  All schools: number and percentage of pupils attending schools in Morecambe and Lunesdale parliamentary constituency and Lancashire local authority with statements of SEN( 1) —January 2006 
			  Pupils with statements of SEN  2004  2005  2006 
			  Morecambe and Lunesdale parliamentary constituency
			 Total pupils 12,991 12,661 12,354 
			 Number 732 735 711 
			 Percentage 5.6 5.8 5.8 
			 
			  Lancashire local authority
			 Total pupils 185,271 182,583 180,019 
			 Number 7,323 7,391 7,332 
			 Percentage 4.0 4.0 4.1 
			 (1) Excludes dually registered pupils.  Source: Schools' Census

Specialised Diplomas

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what procedures will be put in place to assess how specialised diplomas are working after their introduction in 2008.

Phil Hope: Each one of the 14 diploma lines of learning will be evaluated over a three year period. The evaluation will assess how local partnerships are delivering the diplomas, how well they meet the needs of learners and how they contribute to the increased participation and achievement of young people in the 14-19 phase of learning. The evaluation will also consider the value of diplomas to employers, learners, higher education institutions schools and colleges.

Specialised Diplomas

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received on the timescale of the introduction of specialised diplomas.

Phil Hope: holding answer 25 January 2007
	We have held a wide range of events for stakeholders and partners as we have taken forward diploma development, and their views have contributed to the development of the implementation and delivery plans.
	Since the publication of the 14-19 Education and Skills White Paper in February 2005, we have had a small number of representations specifically related to the timescale of the introduction of specialised diplomas.

Specialised Diplomas

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance has been given to local authorities on the co-ordination of school and college timetables prior to the introduction of specialised diplomas.

Phil Hope: Successful implementation and delivery of the 14-19 reforms depends on, among other things, wide dissemination of good practice. That is why we are making the lessons learned from the 14-19 Pathfinder Programme on the co-ordination of school and college timetables widely available through the Learning Visits Programme. Some 115 local authority areas have already attended at least one visit, and, following demand, we are planning this term a programme of learning visits particularly focused on common timetabling. In addition, following the 14-19 Regional Conferences last October, we made available information about how the how the diplomas would fit with existing curriculum requirements, including an example on how one 14-19 Partnership was proposing to do this.

Tamworth Pupils

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils  (a) began year 7 and  (b) finished year 11 in Tamworth constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The available information is shown in the table.
	Information on pupils by year group is available from 2003. For previous years age has been used as the closest available alternative to year group data.
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools( 1) : Number of pupils aged 11 and 15 or in year group 7 and 11( 2) , 1997-2006, position in January each year—Tamworth parliamentary constituency 
			   Number of pupils aged 11  Number of pupils aged 15  Number of pupils in year group 7  Number of pupils in year group 11 
			 1997 1,127 1,081 (3)— (3)— 
			 1998 1,068 1,047 (3)— (3)— 
			 1999 1,122 1,038 (3)— (3)— 
			 2000 1,131 1,096 (3)— (3)— 
			 2001 1,100 1,084 (3)— (3)— 
			 2002 1,113 1,015 (3)— (3)— 
			 2003 1,160 1,069 1,164 1,067 
			 2004 1,081 1,098 1,084 1,096 
			 2005 1,003 1,058 1,000 1,055 
			 2006 988 1,048 989 1,050 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed.  (2) Age as at 31 August in the previous year.  (3) Not available.   Source:  Schools Census

Unauthorised Absences

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many unauthorised absences from schools in  (a) Ribble Valley and  (b) Lancashire there were in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: holding answer 24 January 2007
	The percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence in Ribble Valley parliamentary constituency and Lancashire local authority in each year since 1997 are shown as follows.
	
		
			  Percentage of half days missed in Maintained Primary Schools( 1)  due to unauthorised absence( 2,3) 
			   Ribble Valley  Lancashire  England 
			 1997/98 0.1 0.3 0.50 
			 1998/99 0.1 0.4 0.49 
			 1999/2000 0.1 0.4 0.47 
			 2000/01 0.1 0.3 0.49 
			 2001/02 0.1 0.34 0.45 
			 2002/03 0.1 0.31 0.43 
			 2003/04 0.1 0.32 0.41 
			 2004/05 0.1 0.34 0.43 
			 2005/06 0.1 0.35 0.45 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of half days missed in Maintained Secondary Schools( 1)  due to unauthorised absence( 2,3) 
			   Ribble Valley  Lancashire  England 
			 1997/98 0.3 0.8 1.10 
			 1998/99 0.3 0.9 1.07 
			 1999/2000 0.3 0.8 1.04 
			 2000/01 0.4 0.8 1.07 
			 2001/02 0.4 0.82 1.09 
			 2002/03 0.5 0.82 1.07 
			 2003/04 0.7 0.88 1.13 
			 2004/05 0.7 0.93 1.23 
			 2005/06 0.6 0.94 1.20 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Due to Local Government Reorganisation, regional figures are not available prior to 1998. (3) Figures for Ribble Valley are available to 1 decimal place. Figures for Lancashire local authority are available to 1 decimal place prior to 2001/02 and two decimal places from 2001/02 onwards. 
		
	
	Unauthorised absence is absence without leave from a teacher or other authorised representative of the school. This includes all unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.

University of Cumbria

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the economic effect upon Cumbria of the formation of the University of Cumbria.

Bill Rammell: An economic benefits analysis, as part of the second draft of its business plan, is to be submitted by the University of Cumbria Project Board to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the North West Development Agency (NWDA) by the end of January 2007. This analysis, in accordance with standard appraisal methodology, will indicate the full economic benefits of the formation of the University of Cumbria.

Young Carers

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will issue guidance to local authorities considering putting out to tender statutory assessments of young carers.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department does not instruct local authorities to put out to tender either statutory assessments of young carers made under the Children Act 1989 or other statutory children in need assessments. There are no plans to issue specific guidance on this subject.

Young Carers

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received on the content of local authorities' Children and Young People's Plans in respect of young carers; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 19 January 2007
	The Secretary of State for Education and Skills has not received any representations on the content of Children and Young People's Plans in respect of young carers. Recent research undertaken by the National Foundation for Educational Research found that 24 per cent. of Children and Young People's Plans, from a representative sample of 75 local authorities, make specific reference to young carers.

TREASURY

British Food

James Paice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of food served in buildings occupied by his Department was of British origin in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

John Healey: The Treasury's catering service is provided by Charlton House, whose policy is to source UK products where this offers the best value for money. Information is only readily available about estimated produce sourced from the UK during 2006. This is as follows:
	
		
			  Product group  Percentage of total 
			 Meat 50 
			 Fish 90 
			 Root vegetables 70 
			 Salad 20 
			 Fruit 10 
			 Packaged grocery 60 
			 Chilled 90 
			 Bakery 80 
			 Confectionery/Snacks 90

Child Benefit

Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 16 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1009W, on child benefit, whether the estimated cost of the extension of child benefit was published in documents relating to the 2006 pre-Budget report.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 25 January 2007
	The estimated cost of the extension of child benefit was not published in documents relating to the pre-Budget report 2006. I refer the hon. Member to paragraph B.33 in the pre-Budget report 2006.

Conferences

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which conferences with fewer than 100 attendees were funded in whole or part by his Department in November 2006.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer to him of 18 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1544W.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Paymaster General will reply to the letter of 29 November 2006 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Debbie Levy.

Dawn Primarolo: I have written to my right hon. Friend about the issues raised by Ms Levy.

Department for Education and Skills

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether his Department has agreed that the £250 million increase in the Department for Education and Skills' capital budget in 2008-09 that he announced in his 2006 pre-Budget report be earmarked for primary schools (£150 million) and further education (£100 million);
	(2)  whether his Department has agreed that the £750 million increase in the Department for Education and Skills' capital budget in 2009-10 that he announced in his 2006 pre-Budget report be earmarked for primary schools (£500 million) and further education (£250 million).

Stephen Timms: The 2006 pre-Budget report announced that capital investment in education will rise by an additional £250 million, £750 million and £1,850 million over the years 2008-09 to 2010-11. Of the additional £250 million in 2008-09, £150 million will be for investment in primary schools and £100 million for investment in further education, and of the additional £750 million in 2009-10, £500 million will be for investment in primary schools and £250 million for investment in further education.

Departmental Staff

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) press officers and  (b) other staff were recruited by his Department in the last 12 months; and which of the posts to which recruits were appointed were newly created.

John Healey: The latest figures showing number of staff recruited to the Department can be found on the Treasury website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/about_recruitment.cfm.
	In the last 12 months, two press officers have been recruited to the Department to fill vacancies.
	The Department does not centrally record the number of newly-created posts. This information could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Electoral Statistics

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) total number of electors and  (b) registration rates were for each constituency in the UK in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06, broken down by region and ranked in descending order according to the difference between registration rates in each year.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 January 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what the (a) total number of electors and (b) registration rates were for each constituency in the UK in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06, broken down by region and ranked in descending order according to the difference between registration rates in each year. (112118)
	The Office for National Statistics does not currently produce population estimates by parliamentary constituencies, so we are unable to calculate rates for these years. For registration rates based on the 2001 Census, I refer you to the Official Record 12 December 2005 column 1718W.
	The attached table, which I am placing in the House of Commons Library, shows electors and attainers by parliamentary constituency alphabetically by UK Country, and Government Office Region in England, for 1 December 2004 and 1 December 2005, the latest data available. These statistics can be downloaded from:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=319
	Data for 1 December 2006 will be published here on 22 February 2007.

EMI Group

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what occasions he has met representatives from EMI Group in the last 12 months; which representatives he met on each occasion; and what the purpose was of each meeting.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

EMI Group

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what occasions in the last 12 months officials from his Department have met representatives from EMI Group; and what the purpose was of each meeting.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Freedom of Information

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1340W, on Freedom of Information requests, what role special advisers have in determining which Freedom of Information Act requests are selected for publication on his Department's website.

John Healey: None.

Inflation Figures

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the latest annual rate of inflation is in  (a) the UK,  (b) the USA,  (c) the Eurozone and  (d) Japan.

Edward Balls: The data are publicly available from the respective official statistical offices.
	 (a) UK: www.statistics.gov.uk
	 (b) USA: www.bls.gov
	 (c) Euro area: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
	 (d) Japan: www.stat.go.jp/english/data/cpi/index.htm

Inflation Figures

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when  (a) he and  (b) his officials were first informed of the Consumer Price Index inflation figures to be published on 16 January;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the availability to the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England of inflation data produced by the Office of National Statistics prior to the public release of such data.

John Healey: holding answers 18 January 2007
	As with other market sensitive statistics the National Statistics Code of Practice sets out pre-release access to the Consumer Price Indices for the Treasury and the Bank of England.
	The information on the availability to the Monetary Policy Committee of inflation data produced by the Office for National Statistics falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked her to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 January 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the availability to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England of inflation data produced by the Office of National Statistics, prior to its public release. (116634)
	Consistent with the National Statistics Code of Practice Protocol on Release Practices (Paragraph 4(f)) an estimate of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) is given every month to a restricted list of named ministers and officials and the Governor of the Bank of England 40.5 hours before publication. The names of the people receiving privileged early access are published on the National Statistics website.
	In addition in months when the MPC meets in the week immediately preceding publication of the CPI the ONS provides the Governor with an advance estimate of the CPI on the Wednesday afternoon prior to publication. Paragraphs 4(f)ii and 5.2 of the Release Practices Protocol provides for extensions to the usual privileged early access arrangements. Under the terms of this extension the Governor is free to share the advance estimate with the MPC and officials present at the Thursday morning meeting of the MPC. In the months when this extension applies a note is included in the ONS First Release.
	Consistent with this extension an advance estimate of the CPI for December was sent to the Governor on the afternoon of 10 January. This was recorded in paragraph 19 of the Background Notes to the First Release published on 16 January. The published estimate was sent to the Governor at 5 p.m. on 12 January in line with the usual privileged early access arrangements.

Interest Rates

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average interest rate set by  (a) the Bank of England,  (b) the Federal Reserve Board in the US,  (c) the European Central Bank and  (d) the Japanese Central Bank has been since the introduction of the euro.

Edward Balls: The data are publicly available from the respective central banks.
	 (a) Bank of England: www.bankofengland.co.uk
	 (b) Federal Reserve Board in the US: www.federalreserve.gov
	 (c) European Central Bank: www.ecb.int
	 (d) Japanese Central Bank: www.boj.or.jp/en/

Irish People

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) male and  (b) female Irish people aged (i) 65 to 69, (ii) 70 to 74, (iii) 75 to 79 and (iv) 80 to 85 and (v) over 85 years are living in each local authority area.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 January 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many (a) male and (b) female Irish people aged (i) 65 to 69, (ii) 70 to 74, (iii) 75 to 79 and (iv) 80 to 85 and (v) over 85 years are living in each local authority area. (111801)
	The number of people who described their ethnicity to be Irish in each local authority is available in table S101 on the CD supplement to the 2001 Census National Report for England and Wales, which is available in the House of Commons Library.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were claiming jobseeker's allowance in Wellingborough on 31 December in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2006.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 30 January 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) in the Wellingborough constituency. I am replying in her absence. (111266).
	The ONS compiles statistics of people claiming JSA and publishes them as the claimant count. Figures for parliamentary constituencies are published on a monthly basis in the regional Labour Market Statistics First Releases which are available through the House of Commons Library. The number of residents claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in the Wellingborough constituency in December 1997 was 1,494 and the number claiming in December 2006 was 1,536.

Ministerial Travel

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) date,  (b) purpose and  (c) cost was of each helicopter flight he has taken in the last 12 months.

John Healey: In respect of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Where non-scheduled aircraft are used this is shown in the list. Information for 2005-06 was published on 24 July 2006. Copies of the lists are available in the Library. Equivalent detail about domestic travel could be provided only at disproportionate cost. All travel by Treasury Ministers and officials is undertaken in accordance with the "Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers" and the Civil Service Management Code, as appropriate.

Ministerial Travel

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department charged media organisations to accompany him on his trip to India in January 2007.

John Healey: The Department did not charge media organisations.

Ministerial Travel

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of mileage allowances for travel on official business claimed by Ministers in his Department was in each of the last two years.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers do not normally use their private cars for travel on official business. I am not aware of any claims by Ministers.

Ministerial Visits

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has visited Exeter on official business since 1997.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers' official duties entail visits throughout the United Kingdom.

Mortality Statistics

Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people died as a result of a stroke in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2005 and (d) 2006.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 January 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people died as a result of strokes in (a) 2003, (b) 2004, (c) 2005 and (d) 2006.(111832)
	The most recent year for which figures are available is 2005. The table below shows the number of deaths from strokes in England and Wales for the years 2003 to 2005.
	
		
			  Number of deaths from strokes( 1)  England and Wales, 2003 to 2005( 2) 
			   Number of deaths 
			 2003 57,808 
			 2004 52,899 
			 2005 50,772 
			 (1) Selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-IO) codes 160-169. (2) Figures are for occurrences of death in each calendar year.

New Deal

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue has been forgone by way of concessions given to employers of New Deal participants in each year since 1998.

John Healey: holding answer 29 January 2007
	There is no evidence of any reduction in revenue resulting from support for employers of New Deal participants, such as wage subsidies. As with any other employee, the full wage is liable to income tax and national insurance contributions.

Official Visits

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) destination,  (b) purpose and  (c) cost was of each overseas visit made by members of the Performance and Efficiency Team in his Department in the last two months.

John Healey: This information is not held centrally.

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of his Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether he plans to increase the use of open source software in his Department.

John Healey: Less than 1 per cent. of HM Treasury's desktop and laptop PCs use open source software. 6 per cent. of the Department's servers use open source software. The use of open source software is less than 1 per cent. in planned computer systems.
	HM Treasury follows the Government's published policy, considering open source solutions alongside proprietary ones in IT procurements, and awarding contracts on a value for money basis. The policy can be viewed at the UK Govtalk website.

Security Vetting

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) staff and  (b) external consultants were security vetted to work in his Department in the last 12 months.

John Healey: The Treasury does not disclose detailed information on security vetting matters.

Special Advisers

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) paid and  (b) unpaid special advisers he has appointed since the written ministerial statement made by the Prime Minister on 24 July 2006,  Official Report, column 87WS, on special advisers.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 31 October 2006,  Official Report, column 318W and 6 December 2006,  Official Report, column 486W.

Statistics: Stroud

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what level of gross domestic product was recorded in the nomenclature of units for territorial statistics areas most closely corresponding to  (a) Stroud district council and  (b) Stroud constituency in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 January 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question on gross domestic product (GDP) for the nomenclature of units for territorial statistics (NUTS) area most closely corresponding to  (a) Stroud District Council and  (b) Stroud constituency in each of the last five years. (111090)
	Stroud district council and Stroud constituency are in the NUTS level 3 region of Gloucestershire. Office for National Statistics (ONS) do not publish regional GDP but do publish estimates of regional gross value added (GVA)(l) for the NUTS3 areas, for the period 1995 to 2004. Estimates of NUTS3 GVA, including data for Gloucestershire, were published in December 2006. The GVA for Gloucestershire for the last five years are given in the following table:
	(1) Gross Value Added (GVA) is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) less taxes (plus subsidies) on products.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Gross value added for Gloucestershire 
			 2000 8,185 
			 2001 8,791 
			 2002 9,511 
			 2003 10,330 
			 2004 11,104

Tax Credits

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to integrate the IT systems responsible for administering tax credit payments and for refunds of overpayments; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: There are no current plans to integrate the different IT systems which are involved in the administration of tax credits and the recovery of overpayments. The current systems are function-specific and information about tax credit payments and debt is exchanged between these systems as required.

Tax Credits

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total level of overpayment of tax credits was in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws), on 25 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1949W.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the number of tax credit fraud cases in  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05,  (c) 2005-06 and  (d) 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: For 2003-04, I refer the hon. Member to 'Child and Working Tax Credits, Error and Fraud Statistics 2003-04' available at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk.
	Estimates for future years will be published annually.

Tax Credits

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the online tax credit system to be restored.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) on 31 January 2006,  Official Report, column 441W.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Homicide

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what support the Government provide to the spouses and partners of homicide victims.

Harriet Harman: The Government fund a variety of initiatives and organisations which support the spouses and partners of homicide victims including Victim Support and Support After Murder and Manslaughter. The Victims' Advocate scheme currently being piloted in five courts are giving bereaved relatives the choice to speak in court after conviction and before sentence about the impact of the crime on their family.

Coroners Service

Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she is taking to reduce delays in the coroner service.

Harriet Harman: I am working with coroners to reduce delays and I am drawing up a new Coroners Bill which will allow transfer of cases between areas and will provide for a chief coroner to oversee performance.

Legal Aid

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the review of legal aid.

Vera Baird: The command paper 'Legal Aid Reform: the Way Ahead' was published on 28 November 2006. This sets out how the Government will reform the procurement of legal aid services by moving towards a market-based system. This publication follows the earlier consultation after the publication of Lord Carter's report and the DCA and LSC consultation paper on 13 July 2006.
	The Legal Services Commission is now beginning to implement the reforms, having recently published various documents to take this forward. These include the new rates for magistrates court work in urban areas and the consultation on the new advocates fees for the Crown court. More will follow over the coming months.

Bailiffs

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department is taking to prevent abuses of power by bailiffs.

Harriet Harman: The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill, which is currently progressing through the other place, will consolidate and clarify existing enforcement legislation and common law, making it easier for enforcement agents and debtors alike to understand. Furthermore, the Bill will lead to a new fee structure that will assist in eliminating abuse and will introduce greater regulation of enforcement agents who are not Crown employees or police constables.

Prerogative Powers

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will consult on which prerogative powers could be put into statute.

Bridget Prentice: We acknowledge that it is possible and sometimes desirable for the prerogative to be replaced by either statute or parliamentary conventions on scrutiny, where circumstances make that appropriate. We have already moved significantly in this direction. We keep policy in this area under review, but we do not believe that there is a case for a wide-ranging consultation exercise.

Electoral Register

James McGovern: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of eligible voters missing from the electoral register in Dundee, West.

Bridget Prentice: A comparison between the electoral register in Dundee and the local authority's mid-year population estimate for 2005 indicates approximately 7,637 adults who are resident but not on the electoral roll. However, not all of these residents will necessarily be eligible to vote as they may not meet the eligibility criteria. For instance they may not hold a qualifying nationality.

Electoral Administration

Clive Betts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she plans to take to monitor the performance of electoral administrators under the Electoral Administration Act 2006.

Bridget Prentice: The power to establish and monitor performance standards for the provision of electoral services is given to the Electoral Commission under section 67 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006. We will clearly wish to see the results of the performance monitoring once the standards have been established and implemented.

Electoral Administration

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress she has made in developing minimum standards in the practices of electoral registration officers.

Bridget Prentice: On 4 December, the Electoral Commission issued a consultation paper, "Developing Electoral Registration Performance Indicators". This closed on 26 January. Following analysis of responses, I understand a pilot of the indicators will run from March to June 2007, and that rollout will be from 1 December 2007.

Supreme Court

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she expects the new Supreme Court building to be completed.

Harriet Harman: The Supreme Court Implementation Programme is on target to deliver the Supreme Court at the Middlesex Guildhall in October 2009. On 7 September 2006 Westminster city council (WCC) unanimously resolved to grant planning and listed building consent for Middlesex Guildhall and DCA are currently involved in commercial negotiations with the preferred bidder, Kier Group plc.

Magistrates

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the funding of magistrates courts.

Harriet Harman: The Department has received its settlement from the Treasury in December for Comprehensive Spending Review period (CSR07) covering financial years 2008-09 to 2010-11. The funding for the magistrates courts is currently being negotiated but this will be in context of the Department's commitment to ensuring an efficient modern service and protecting front-line operations. I will be able to inform the House more fully following the conclusion of these negotiations.

British Food

James Paice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what proportion of food served in buildings occupied by her Department was of British origin in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Harriet Harman: My Department has contracted out catering services that are provided chiefly in court buildings. Based on information provided by the four suppliers involved, the proportion of food of British origin served in 2005 was 80 per cent. to 100 per cent. for eggs and milk products; 90 per cent. for cheeses; 78 per cent. to 100 per cent. for root vegetables; 20 per cent. to 69 per cent. for salad vegetables; 12.5 per cent. to 50 per cent. for fruit; 50 per cent. to 60 per cent. for fish; 77 per cent. to 100 per cent. for bakery products; 76 per cent. to 100 per cent. for chicken; 40 per cent. to 100 per cent. for beef; 52 per cent. to 100 per cent. for lamb; 20 per cent. to 100 per cent. for bacon and pork.
	Information available shows that these figures remain unchanged in 2006.

Court Televisions

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 870W, on court televisions, how many television displays in court rooms were paid for by the police; and when she expects all magistrates courts to have television displays.

Harriet Harman: The police are not responsible for the purchase of television displays in the courtrooms. The television displays in court have been purchased locally by the courts or through centrally funded Her Majesty's Courts Service initiatives. By March 2007, 266 of the 344 magistrates courts will have television displays available in the courtroom. Further television displays will be purchased if needed by the business.

Electoral Commission

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans the Government have to implement the recommendations of the report on the review of the Electoral Commission by the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

Bridget Prentice: The Government are considering the Committee's recommendations and will respond in due course.

Electoral Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much funding was allocated to each local authority area for registration of electors in 2006-07.

Bridget Prentice: In addition, to funding already provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government in order for local authorities to perform registration activities, additional funding has been provided in light of the new obligations introduced under the Electoral Administration Act 2006, of which registration of electors is one.
	£19.9 million has been transferred to English Local Authorities in 2006-07 and £1.2 million will be transferred to the National Assembly for Wales in 2006-07. The same sums will be transferred in 2007-08. In addition, up to £12.2 million for the new absent vote personal identifier arrangements will be provided over 2006-07 and 2007-08. The exact sum will depend on the number of electors on absent voter lists on 1 January 2007 and on postal voting volumes on 3 May 2007.

Electoral Registration

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will introduce elsewhere in the UK individual electoral registration as adopted in Northern Ireland.

Bridget Prentice: The Government have no plans to introduce individual registration in the rest of the UK.

Fines

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what percentage of fines issued by courts were unpaid in each of the last five years, broken down by the category of offence for which they were issued.

Harriet Harman: Information on fines imposed and collected is provided by the 42 HMCS court areas in England and Wales. The current payment rate for financial impositions for the 2006-07 year-to-date (April-November) is 90 per cent., against a target of 83 per cent. The following table shows the payment rate for the last five years.
	Data are collected on the value of financial penalties (including fines) imposed and outstanding. Figures relating to categories of offence are not held centrally and could be made available only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Financial year  Fine payment rate—England and Wales (Percentage) 
			 2000-01 63 
			 2001-02 59 
			 2002-03 55 
			 2003-04 74 
			 2004-05 80 
			 2005-06 83 
			 2006-07 year-to-date (April-November) 90 
			 Payment rate = amount paid divided by new net amount owed 
		
	
	The primary performance indicator is the payment rate. It is defined as the amount paid into court as a percentage of the new net amount owed. Methods of calculating the new net amounts owed have changed a number of times and are detailed as follows:
	September 1999 to March 2003—new net amount owed includes legally cancelled amounts, civil monies and confiscation orders.
	April 2003 to December 2003—new net amount owed excludes legally cancelled amounts, civil monies and confiscation orders.
	January 2004 to July 2004—new net amount owed excludes legally cancelled amounts, administratively cancelled amounts, civil monies and confiscation orders.
	July 2004 onwards—new net amount owed excludes legally cancelled amounts, administratively cancelled amounts, civil monies and confiscation orders, but includes amounts written back.
	From April 2003 onwards, confiscation and civil amounts have not been included in any of the enforcement calculations. It is not possible to separate those elements out from the figures before that date. As a result of these revisions, direct year-on-year comparisons cannot be made.

Libra IT Project

John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cost has been of the Libra IT project.

Vera Baird: Expenditure on IT within my Department is contained within separate contracts that support strategic business change programmes across the Department. The Libra contracts include the provision of IT infrastructure and office automation for all magistrates courts and delivery of a national case management system.
	Details of expenditure under the Libra contracts are as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2000-01 11.2 
			 2001-02 22 
			 2002-03 68 
			 2003-04 79.6 
			 2004-05 65.25 
			 2005-06 81.5

Magistrates Court Appearance

John Pugh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of costs arising from the non-appearance of defendants in magistrates courts in 2006-07.

Harriet Harman: The Government do not have a precise estimate of costs arising from defendant non-attendance in magistrates courts. The Government are committed to improving defendant attendance at court and ensuring those who do fail to attend are brought back to court as quickly as possible and dealt with robustly. By the end of 2006, the proportion of trials failing to complete due to defendant non-attendance had fallen from 5.6 per cent. to 2.2 per cent. since 2002-03.

Magistrates Court Appearance

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she is taking to reduce the incidence of defendants failing to attend magistrates court hearings.

Harriet Harman: Through the National Criminal Justice Board (NCJB) and local Criminal Justice Boards the criminal justice system is pursuing a strategy to address non attendance at court in three ways: improving defendant's first-time compliance with bail, improving the enforcement of failure-to-appear warrants, and dealing robustly with Bail Act offences.

Ministerial Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the  (a) destination and  (b) cost to the public purse was of each of the foreign trips undertaken by junior Ministers in her Department in the 2005-06 financial year.

Harriet Harman: Junior Ministers at the Department undertook trips to the following foreign destinations during the last financial year:
	Belgium,
	Bulgaria,
	Finland,
	France,
	Germany,
	Ghana,
	the Republic of Ireland,
	Luxembourg,
	Poland,
	Romania,
	South Africa.
	To find the cost of these trips would incur disproportionate costs as this information is not held centrally.

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of her Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether she plans to increase the use of open source software in her Department.

Harriet Harman: Open source software is used in my Department alongside other non-open source software on a range of different technology platforms, and it is not possible to calculate the percentages attributable to each type of software.
	My Department will continue to consider open source solutions on an overall value for money basis in accordance with the Government's 2004 policy statement.

TRANSPORT

Bus Travel

Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what responses he has had to his proposals for a modernised framework for bus services.

Gillian Merron: We are greatly encouraged by the response to the Government's proposals for a modernised framework for improving bus services. They have been widely welcomed by bus operators, users and local authorities alike, with whom we are working closely to take forward the proposals, in preparation for the draft Road Transport Bill.

Road Traffic Accidents

Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to improve the clearing of motorways and trunk roads after accidents.

Stephen Ladyman: Measures have been taken to improve clearance of motorways and trunk roads following incidents by deploying traffic officers and incident support units across the network on a 24/7 basis.

Deregulated Bus Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of passenger satisfaction with deregulated bus services.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport has conducted a bus passenger satisfaction survey in England outside London every quarter since 2000-01. The average rating for overall service in 2005-06 is 83 out of 100.

Rail Franchise Agreements

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide for new rail franchise agreements to include a requirement for a maximum time a rail commuter should expect to stand without having access to a seat.

Tom Harris: The Government recognise the pressures now faced by many passengers at the busiest times on the busiest routes into work.
	This is why, in all franchises we let, we set a target that standing should not exceed 20 minutes and that peak capacity should meet demand. The recently let First Capital Connect and South Western Trains franchises contain commitments to increase capacity.
	We recognise that demand for rail has increased markedly in the past decade and this summer, for the first time, the Government will publish a fully funded strategy to buy extra capacity where it is most needed.

First Great Western

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve reliability and service provision on First Great Western railways.

Tom Harris: First Great Western has acknowledged that service provision has suffered because it underestimated passenger demand. It has already taken steps to restore capacity in some areas and expects the position to improve further in the coming weeks. Performance issues are the subject of action plans between the company and Network Rail which are monitored monthly.

A1: Nottinghamshire

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the A1 in Nottinghamshire to be fully dualled.

Stephen Ladyman: The A1 in Nottinghamshire has been dualled since the mid 1960's. Work to improve safety and ease congestion at the A1 junctions near Blyth, Apleyhead and Markham Moor started in September 2006 and is expected to be complete by August 2008.

Public Transport Links

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to improve public transport links between Merseyside, Cheshire and north east Wales.

Gillian Merron: We recognise the importance of good transport links for economic and social regeneration and for improving access to jobs and key services. The Government support long-term and sustained investment in public transport schemes in England through the Local Transport Plans. The Merseyside, Halton and Cheshire Local Transport Plans highlight the joint working they have been undertaking with neighbouring Welsh authorities and we encourage them to continue that.

Railway Timetables

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to encourage improvements in the railway timetable to improve connecting services.

Tom Harris: Rail franchise contracts let by the Department for Transport will, where appropriate, seek to retain and improve the opportunities for connecting services.
	The specific detail in the timetable is a matter for the Train Operating Companies and Network Rail who work together to deliver an optimum timetable.

Rail Freight

Chris Mole: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the change in the volume of freight carried by rail since 1997.

Tom Harris: The amount of freight moved by rail increased from 15.1 to 22.11 billion net tonne kilometres between 1996-97 and 2005-06. This represents an increase of 46.4 per cent.

Airport Security

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional security arrangements have been put in place at airports since August 2006.

Douglas Alexander: New aviation security measures which have been implemented at UK airports in light of August's security alert include the controls on liquids and the limit on the number and maximum size of cabin bags. Other new measures which have been implemented since August are not visible to passengers.

Airline Travel: Taxes

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much in  (a) security tax,  (b) fuel surcharge,  (c) air passenger duty and  (d) other taxes charges is levied on a ticket costing £50 from Heathrow to a European destination.

Gillian Merron: It is for individual airlines to consider how to meet the costs of their operations and set charges for passengers. There is no need to earmark separate elements, though some choose to do so for presentational reasons.
	In relation to air passenger duty on a flight to a European destination, airlines currently have to pay £5 for each passenger in standard class and £10 for each passenger in other classes. Those rates rise to £10 and £20 respectively from 1 February.

Blue Badge Scheme

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what progress his Department has made towards ensuring that people with upper limb disabilities are fully eligible for a badge under the blue badge parking scheme;
	(2)  when he expects regulations regarding the application of the blue badge scheme to people with upper limb disabilities to be published.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 26 January 2007
	Following discussions with The Thalidomide Trust, the Department has agreed to change the existing upper limb criterion for a blue badge to include disabled people who drive a vehicle regularly, have a severe congenital disability in both arms and are unable to operate, or have considerable difficulty in operating, all or some types of parking meter.
	This change requires amendment regulations which we are currently finalising, along with new guidance to local authorities and a revised explanatory leaflet on the Scheme. We intend consulting on this regulatory package shortly and implementing/issuing them as soon as possible thereafter.

Bristol Airport

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the runway at Bristol airport has been re-surfaced with a negative textured surface.

Gillian Merron: The runway at Bristol airport is being resurfaced in accordance with standard industry practice. The Civil Aviation Authority understands that the runway surface of grooved Marshall asphalt concrete material has both positive and negative texture characteristics, and is satisfied that the safety of operations at the airport is being maintained.

Bus Subsidies

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much bus subsidy operators grant has been given to bus operators in Lancashire since 2000.

Gillian Merron: Records of payments to bus operators of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) are not collated on a geographical basis.
	All operators of local bus services which are available to and used by the general public are eligible to receive this grant. There are over 90 operators based in the Lancashire area currently claiming BSOG.
	BSOG expenditure in England this financial year is forecast to total £390 million. The grant is in general equivalent to a rebate of 80 per cent. of the fuel duty incurred by bus operators, with a higher rate of rebate for cleaner fuels.

Bus Subsidies

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding has been given as part of the subsidised service spending for buses to Lancashire county council since 2000.

Gillian Merron: The majority of support for local bus services is provided by local authorities using the Government's Revenue Support Grant (RSG), which is an unhypothecated block grant, and authorities' own resources. It is for each authority to decide how much of their RSG allocation to devote to bus support.
	The Department has however specifically supported the provision of bus services in rural areas by the payment of the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG) This grant, introduced in 1998, is paid to local transport authorities according to numbers living in rural areas. Between 2000-01 and 2006-07 Lancashire county council has received almost £7.8 million in RBSG.
	We have also provided funding to local authorities through the Rural and Urban Bus Challenge and Kickstart competitions held between 1998 and 2003. Since 2000 Lancashire county council has received awards totalling £5.85 million in these competitions.

Buses

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his Department's response to the Committee of Public Accounts' 43(rd )Report of 2005-06, whether his Department is assessing the merits of requiring bus operators to report their performance data to the Traffic Commissioners and the public in its review of legislative and other aspects of bus operation outside London.

Gillian Merron: On 12 December the Government published their proposals for a modernised national framework for bus services in the document 'Putting Passengers First'. This document sets out a range of proposals to improve bus services, including a new performance regime where operators provide performance data to their local Traffic Commissioner, and where local authorities, as well as operators, can be held to account for their contribution to the performance of local bus services.

Carbon Emissions

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department began to measure its carbon emissions; what the volume of those emissions was in the last period for which figures are available; when his Department started to offset those emissions; what the cost is expected to be of offsetting his Department's emissions; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department began to measure its carbon emissions in May 2002.
	The figures for the Department's estate are collected in the annual sustainable operations in government questionnaire. A copy of the 2005-06 questionnaire has been placed in the Libraries of the House. It should be noted that the Department's procedure for collecting this information has recently been subject to significant review and that, as a result, some earlier figures may need to be revisited.
	The Department is in the process of establishing a carbon footprint for travel across the central Department and its agencies but this work is not yet complete and cannot therefore be provided.
	There is a cross-Government target for the central Government office estate to be carbon neutral by 2012, which will require Departments to offset emissions every year from 2012 in order to achieve a zero balance. The Department's current priority is to implement measures to change behaviour and reduce the environmental impact of our operations and travel.
	All central Government official and ministerial air travel has been captured under offsetting schemes since April 2006. Payments are made on an annual basis at the end of each financial year and the Department estimates its contribution for 2006-07 to be in the region of £10,000.

Concessionary Fares

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has given to concessionary fares schemes for  (a) pensioners and  (b) disabled people in Lancashire by (i) borough councils and (ii) county councils.

Gillian Merron: From April this year, older and disabled people have been guaranteed free off-peak local bus travel within their local authority area. The Government provided an extra £350 million in 2006-07 and will provide a further £367.5 million in 2007-08 to fund the extra costs to local authorities. The funding for concessionary fares is provided through formula grant and is unhypothecated; therefore it is not separately identified for each local authority.

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many letters to his Department sent from hon. Members during Session 2005-06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) over six months old.

Gillian Merron: As at 15 January 2007, the breakdown of unanswered letters from hon. Members sent to the Department for Transport during Session 2005-06 was as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 One month old 0 
			 Two months old 2 
			 Three months old 3 
			 Four months old 3 
			 Over six months old 3 
		
	
	These figures include letters to which substantive interim responses have been sent but where the final response is outstanding.

Departmental Expenditure

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of expenditure by his Department in each Government office region in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: Information on the Department's identifiable expenditure on services by region for 2004-05 is published in the Department's annual report 2006 (Cm 6527), table A9.

Departmental Expenditure

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much programme expenditure sponsored by his Department was spent via each of the Government offices for the regions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: A complete answer to this question cannot be given as the information is not currently held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
	The Transport for London grant is paid via the Government office for London. The 2005-06 spend figure was £2,180 million (£1,161 million on London Underground and £1,019 million on other transport).

Departmental Fixed Assets

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which fixed assets his Department sold for more than £10,000 in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06; and what the (i) sale value, (ii) purchaser and (iii) date of sale was of each asset.

Gillian Merron: The requested information, other than that requested at b(ii) has been placed in the Library of the House. The information requested at b(ii) is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total sum was of bonuses paid to civil servants in his Department in  (a) 2001,  (b) 2003 and  (c) 2006.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 26 January 2007
	The Department for Transport was formed in 2002. The Department comprises of a central department plus seven executive agencies each with its own pay and reward system. Information has been collected from the central department and all seven agencies and collated in to one set of figures. Figures for 2003 are not readily available and can be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
	In 2006 the total sum of performance bonuses paid to staff was £9,023,290. Bonuses are paid in respect of overall performance or for exceptional performance on a specific task or at a specific time. This figure contains £341,757 for DfT central's 2005 performance award bonuses which were also paid in 2006.

Driving Standards

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has assessed the merits of introducing measures to ensure that standards of driving attained at the time of taking a driving test are maintained; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Drivers are most at risk when they are newly qualified and inexperienced. The majority of more experienced drivers have the skills needed to drive safely and therefore priorities and resources are being targeted on improving training prior to the driving test, together with increasing remedial training for drivers who transgress on the legal requirements.

European Road Safety Programme

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has made to the European Union on the Government's policy on the European Commission road safety action programme; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The European Commission road safety action programme was published in 2003 and has been discussed at the Transport Council where Ministers adopted formal conclusions to which the UK agreed. The Council noted that in accordance with the action programme, many measures can be advanced on the basis of collaboration and cooperation to roll out best practice, but it also invited the Commission to bring forward legislative proposals where appropriate.

Executive Agencies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by each of his Department's Executive agencies in each Government office region in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: The information is not available in the form requested and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Executive Agencies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which executive agencies are the responsibility of his Department; what the function is of each agency; and what the budget was of each agency in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: Information on the function and budgets for each of the Department's Executive agencies are published in the Department's annual report 2006 (Cm 6817), chapter 2 'The responsibilities and organisation of the Department', paragraphs 2.19 to 2.42 and annex A tables A2 and A3.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's estimate is of  (a) the current shortfall of large goods vehicle (LGV) drivers and  (b) the requirement for new LGV drivers over the next 10 years.

Stephen Ladyman: It is primarily for the road freight industry to manage issues concerning the supply of drivers—the Department does not maintain estimates of future industry needs.
	However we are currently funding a research project in this area, managed by Skills for Logistics (the relevant sector skills council). This is: identifying the key skills required for LGV drivers; identifying availability of existing training places; reviewing the availability of existing and potential drivers (including from backgrounds currently under-represented in the sector); considering the need for drivers on a regional basis; and assessing gaps in knowledge and future trends. The research is planned to report in the spring.

Leeds Traffic Area Office

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) original planned date was and  (b) revised date is for centralising licensing works to the Leeds Traffic Area Office.

Stephen Ladyman: It was originally planned to centralise the administration of the operator licensing system for goods and public service vehicles by 31 March 2007. This work would include the processing of applications and the issuing of licences under delegated authority of the traffic commissioners. All processing of applications was transferred in the week beginning 22 January 2007 and it remains the intention to complete the transfer by 31 March 2007.

Mental Health

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to promote actively the employment within  (a) his Department and  (b) public sector bodies for whom he has responsibility of people with mental illnesses in line with the advice and codes of practice produced by the Disability Rights Commission.

Gillian Merron: Under the Disability Equality Duty introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, the Department and its agencies, are required to publish and implement Disability Equality Schemes.
	The Department's scheme was published in December 2006 and is available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/page/dft_about_613758.pdf.
	The scheme sets out that the Department is committed to actively increasing the representation of disabled people, including those with mental health conditions, at all levels. The section "Managing Our People" on page 37 sets out our broad plans for implementing the duty for disabled people working for the Department. The annexes to the scheme set out in more detail plans for the central Department and its agencies.

Mobile Phones

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding has been allocated to his recently announced campaign to raise awareness of the change in penalties for using a mobile phone while driving.

Stephen Ladyman: We have allocated £1 million to publicity to raise awareness of the changes in penalties for using a mobile phone while driving. Activity, which is being taken forward as part of our THINK! road safety campaign, will be executed in four phases:
	Phase 1, launched on 22 January, is using a mix of press, radio, online advertising and public relations work to inform the public and business of the change in legislation and to communicate the dangers to the driver and other road users.
	Phase 2, to start after 27 February when the regulations come into force, will reinforce behavioural change messages focussing not just on drivers, but also by encouraging callers to think before they make a call to someone who might be driving. We shall use online advertising and public relations work to reinforce phase 2 messages.
	Simultaneously, Phase 3, using radio and online messages, will focus on enforcement, highlighting the fact that the police will be stopping motorists and that they face both points on their licence and a £60 fine.
	Phase 4, later in the summer, will primarily use public relations work, reinforcing the distractions message, and drawing attention to police enforcement activity.

Motorcycles: Accidents

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving 16-year-olds driving 50cc motorcycles there were in each of the last 15 years; and what percentage of traffic accidents in each year each figure represents.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Personal injury road accidents reported to the police involving 16-year-olds riding motorcycles 50cc or less GB: 1991 to 2005 
			   Number of accidents  As a percentage of all injury accidents 
			 1991 1,171 0.50 
			 1992 870 0.37 
			 1993 680 0.30 
			 1994 577 0.25 
			 1995 591 0.26 
			 1996 579 0.25 
			 1997 606 0.25 
			 1998 621 0.26 
			 1999 1,063 0.45 
			 2000 1,366 0.58 
			 2001 1,698 0.74 
			 2002 (1)1,783 0.80 
			 2003 1,876 0.88 
			 2004 1,997 0.96 
			 2005 1,953 0.98 
			 (1) Figure corrected from previous answer—15 January 2007, O fficial Report, columns 755-6W.

Motorcycles: Accidents

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to reduce pedestrian/motorcycle collisions; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: All new riders must first undertake compulsory basic training which is a legal requirement. This is a modular course which covers information on vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, the Highway Code, defensive riding and anticipating the actions of other road users.
	Riders are trained to the standards laid down in the Driving Standards Agency's publication "The Official DSA Guide to Riding—the essential skills", which has numerous references to the rider's responsibilities towards pedestrians.
	The Highway Code provides advice to all road users about how to stay safe on the roads and also to show consideration towards each other. This applies to pedestrians as much as to drivers and riders.

Motoring Offences

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prosecutions resulted from the most recent campaign to target motorists driving without insurance.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the prosecutions brought and fixed penalties offered for the offence of driving without appropriate insurance is contained in the annual Home Office statistical bulletin 'Motoring Offences and Breath Test Statistics, England and Wales', available on the Home Office website at:
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk.
	The latest figures are for 2004; the data do not show the circumstances leading to the proceedings and are not related to particular campaigns.
	The Government have taken several initiatives in recent times to tackle motor insurance evasion. We introduced two new relevant measures in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005: first, improved police access to the motor insurance database (MFD) to enhance their capability to detect uninsured driving by using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) equipment; second, powers allowing the police to seize vehicles being driven by someone without appropriate insurance. In the Road Safety Act 2006, we enabled the introduction of a new fixed penalty for people who ignore official reminders that their insurance has expired: when introduced, this will provide for a scheme of continuous insurance enforcement from the vehicle record, to complement police activities.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by his Department; what the function is of each body; and what the annual budget was of each body in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Gillian Merron: Details of the remit, Government funding and gross expenditure of public bodies sponsored by the Department for Transport can be found in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 2006", copies of which are in the Library and which is also available online at http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/other/agencies/publications/pdf/public-bodies/publicbodies2006.pdf
	The latest annual budgets (2006-07 unless otherwise noted) for the Department's non-departmental public bodies are:
	The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee: £365,000.
	The British Transport Police: £221.5 million, with a Capital budget of £10 million.
	The British Transport Police Authority: £1.5 million.
	Cycling England: £10 million.
	Passenger Focus (operating name of the Rail Passengers Council): £4,515,000, plus an additional £942,000 ring-fenced specifically for spend on the management of its National Passenger Survey project.
	The Railways Heritage Committee: £109,000.
	The Trinity House Lighthouse Service General Lighthouse Authority: £37.5 million.
	The Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses: £32.3 million, including a £8.2 million one-off forecast payment for the termination of the lease for the NLV Pharos aid to navigation vessel.
	The Commission for Integrated Transport: £1,500,000.
	The Traffic Commissioners receive no vote funding and their costs are borne by fees charged to the industry by the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA) under Trading Fund status. VOSA does not have a separately identifiable budget for the Traffic Commissioners, as they fall within the remit of the Agency.
	Further information on the remit and function of these bodies may be found in the Department's annual report (Cm 6817), copies of which are also in the Library and available online at http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/page/dft_about _611668.hcsp with more detailed information available online at http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_control /documents/contentservertemplate/dft_index.hcst?n =17250&l=2

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of his Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether he plans to increase the use of open source software in his Department.

Gillian Merron: The following table gives the respective position for the central Department and its agencies on current and planned use of open source software. The policy regarding any increase in use is that the Department will continue to consider open source solutions on an overall value for money basis in accordance with the Government's 2004 policy statement.
	
		
			   Percentage of systems using open source software  Percentage of systems planned to be installed with open source software 
			 DfT(c) Less than 1 per cent. No open source systems currently planned, although new requirements will be considered against the 2004 policy statement 
			 DVLA 33 per cent. Figure will increase when Legacy Systems are re-engineered 
			 DSA 0 No open source systems currently planned, although new requirements will be considered against the 2004 policy statement 
			 HA Less than 1 per cent. No open source systems currently planned, although new requirements will be considered against the 2004 policy statement 
			 VOSA Percentage uncertain, but used in only one project (MOT computerisation) May increase, although all software changes are subject to Siemens PFI contract. 
			 MCGA 4 per cent. of servers—83 per cent. of systems in whole or part Will increase, as currently planning new Ship system based on open source software 
			 GCDA 0 No open source systems currently planned, although new requirements will be considered against the 2004 policy statement 
			 VCA 0 Under 1 per cent.

Programme Expenditure: Canterbury

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Highways Agency spent on programme expenditure in Canterbury local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available.

Railway Stations: Disabled Access

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he approved or supported in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006 and  (c) 2007 for improving access at Llandaff station, Cardiff, for people with disabilities.

Tom Harris: holding answer 29 January 2007
	The Secretary of State has not been asked to approve directly or support any plans relating to access for disabled people at Llandaff railway station in 2005, 2006 or 2007.

Railway Stations: Disabled Access

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations have taken place with people with disabilities on access and facilities for passengers and other users of Llandaff station, Cardiff.

Tom Harris: holding answer 29 January 2007
	The Department for Transport does not hold information centrally on all consultations that take place relating to access and facilities at particular railway stations. Ministers and officials consult regularly with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee and other groups on issues affecting disabled people at railway stations.

Railway Stations: Disabled Access

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he plans to take to improve access for people with disabilities at Llandaff station, Cardiff.

Tom Harris: holding answer 29 January 2007
	On 23 March 2006 the Government launched the Railways for All Strategy which sets out what the rail industry is doing to improve access to Britain's railways, particularly for people with disabilities. Central to the strategy is the £370 million Access for All funding, ring fenced to improve accessibility at railway stations up to 2015.
	The majority of the funding (£315 million) is targeted at the busiest stations and the works are being delivered by Network Rail. To date the Department has announced 92 stations in England and Wales for Network Rail to prioritise for access improvements up to 2011. Later this year we are planning to publish a third tranche of stations for inclusion within the Access for All programme for delivery between 2012 and 2015. Llandaff will be considered for inclusion in this tranche alongside all other eligible stations.
	In addition, up to £7 million a year is available as Small Schemes Funding for train operating companies and local authorities to bid for match funding to make access improvements at local stations. The Department has not received any Small Schemes bids for improvements at Llandaff station.

Railway Stations: Disabled Access

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many railway stations within the boundaries of the city of Cardiff give wheelchair access for disabled people to both up and down line trains.

Tom Harris: holding answer 29 January 2007
	The Department for Transport does not hold this information centrally. Information about wheelchair access at railway stations is provided by the Association of Train Operating Companies on the national rail website (www.nationalrail.co.uk).

Railway Stations: Disabled Access

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last discussed access for wheelchair users to railway stations in Wales with the First Minister.

Tom Harris: holding answer 29 January 2007
	The Secretary of State meets regularly with Ministers from the devolved administrations and discusses a wide range of transport issues. It is not the normal practice of the Government to disclose specific details of these meetings.

Recruitment Agencies

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department was formed in May 2002. The following table represents how much the Department and its agencies paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in the following years.
	The table does not include Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. I would refer the hon. Member to the annual report, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	
		
			  £ 
			 2002-03 2,567,876 
			 2003-04 6,494,095 
			 2004-05 7,291,909 
			 2005-06(1) 6,395,966 
			 2006-07(1) (2)1,171,459 
			 (1) The Government Car and Despatch Agency have provided for years 2005-06 and 2006-07. Figures for earlier years are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.  (2) To date

Road Accidents

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many children were  (a) killed and  (b) injured while riding bicycles in the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested has been published by the Department on its website in table 8.2 of 'Transport Statistics Great Britain: 2006 edition'. This table can be found at the following web address:
	www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/tsgb/2006edition/sectioneighttransportacciden1846.
	A copy of this publication is also available in the Libraries of the House.

Road Network: Swindon

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on Swindon's road network in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The spending reported by the relevant local authority is as follows:
	
		
			   Total (£) 
			 1997-98 4,827,000 
			 1998-99 7,554,000 
			 1999-2000 6,614,986 
			 2000-01 9,803,469 
			 2001-02 12,291,529 
			 2002-03 11,767,550 
			 2003-04 11,806,578 
			 2004-05 11,332,181 
			 2005-06 13,935,050 
			 Total 89,932,342 
		
	
	Figures include all capital, maintenance, street lighting and structures. Some £8,550,000 of the total has been contributed through developer funding (section 106).
	Highways Agency spending has not been included because it is not possible to disaggregate funds spent on cross-boundary projects into individual local authority areas.

Seat Belts: Exemptions

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what factors were taken into account when deciding to exempt taxi drivers and drivers of private hire vehicles from the requirement to wear a seat belt; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The exemption has been available since 1983 because of the risks that these drivers face from those that may assault or seek to rob them. The exemption applies in respect of licensed taxis and private hire vehicles as follows:
	(i) while a licensed taxi is being used for seeking hire, answering a call for hire or is carrying a paying passenger;
	(ii) while a private hire vehicle is being use to carry a paying passenger.

Sheppey Crossing

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of how many drivers ignored closure signs at the Sheppey crossing and attempted to use the crossing in 2005-06.

Stephen Ladyman: No drivers have ignored closure signs and attempted to use the Sheppey crossing when it has been closed.

Sheppey Crossing

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that dot matrix signs are installed on both sides of the Sheppey crossing to warn motorists of high winds and dangerous driving conditions.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency is currently carrying out a study to ascertain if it is technically feasible to provide electronic variable message signs on the approaches to the Sheppey crossing bridge.

Sheppey Crossing

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when lighting will be put in place on both sides of the Sheppey crossing.

Stephen Ladyman: There are no proposals to provide lighting on the approaches to the Sheppey crossing bridge.

Speed Limits

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will devolve the approval of variable speed indicators to highway authorities.

Stephen Ladyman: Traffic authorities already have powers to introduce variable speed limit signs without consent from the Secretary of State providing those signs conform to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 and the relevant speed limit orders are in place. There are no plans to devolve responsibility to traffic authorities for signs which do not conform to these regulations.

Street Markets

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of possible measures to improve transport to and from local street markets to encourage sustainability.

Gillian Merron: Responsibility for local street markets is for local authorities to consider as part of their transport planning work. The Department has issued guidance to them to assist in preparing their second Local Transport Plans. This asks them to consider a range of measures that will reduce congestion, improve air quality, and increase the use of public transport and levels of walking and cycling.
	Local authorities are required to include accessibility strategies within their Local Transport Plans, which should include measures for addressing accessibility problems found within their area, particularly with regards access to healthcare, education, employment and healthy affordable food.

Tankers: Double Hulls

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans all tankers entering UK waters to be required to have double hulls.

Stephen Ladyman: In accordance with a timetable set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), to which the UK is a party, all tankers of 5,000 gross tonnes (gt) and above will be required to have double hulls by the end of 2015. The very large majority of single hull tankers will have been phased-out by the end of 2010. Tankers which do not comply with the IMO's double hull construction standards will be allowed to continue in service beyond 2010 only if they have additional protection such as double sides or double bottoms and are under 25 years old.
	All tankers of 5,000 gt or more and carrying heavy grades of oil are already required to have double hulls if calling at a UK port. Small tankers of less than 5,000 gt and carrying heavy grades of oil will be prohibited from calling at UK ports from the anniversary of their delivery in 2008.

UK Ports

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will extend capacity at UK ports; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The UK ports sector is market-led, and it is for the ports themselves to come forward with proposals for new capacity, where they expect demand to warrant it.
	Our ports policy review is currently considering, among other matters, likely overall requirements for capacity at national level up to 2030.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the access to work scheme among small and medium-sized employers;
	(2)  what percentage of  (a) small and  (b) medium-sized employers are aware of the access to work scheme; and how many were aware of the scheme in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how much his Department has spent in each of the last five years on advertising and promotional work to raise awareness of the access to work scheme among small and medium-sized employers.

Anne McGuire: Information about access to work is already available to employers in leaflets designed especially for them. The leaflets are freely available from Jobcentre Plus offices. The information is also given on the Jobcentre Plus website and Direct Gov website.
	Jobcentre Plus does not keep access to work records by type of employer. Disability employment advisers, who are often the gateway to access to work, are regularly in contact with employers locally and will raise awareness of access to work when appropriate.
	There has been no advertising and promotional work specifically targeted at small and medium-sized employers in the last five years. However, Jobcentre Plus does market access to work as part of its general marketing strategy and has spent around £125,000 on marketing in disability magazines in 2005-06.

Accession Countries: Social Security

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the total cost of providing social security benefits to citizens from the A8 countries who  (a) did and  (b) did not register on the workers registration scheme in each month since May 2004.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.

Benefit Claimants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who were claiming incapacity benefit prior to November 2003 are now claiming jobseeker's allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The number of claimants who flowed off incapacity benefit between 1 June 1999 and 30 November 2003, and who were claiming jobseeker's allowance at 31 May 2006, is 103,970, which represents 3.2 per cent. of the total incapacity benefit terminations for the same period.

Benefit Disqualification

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many unemployed non-disabled  (a) male and  (b) female workers aged (i) 20 to 29, (ii) 30 to 39, (iii) 40 to 49 and (iv) 50 to 59 years had their benefit disqualified for (A) two weeks, (B) four weeks, (C) 13 weeks and (D) 26 weeks in the last 12 months; and what the equivalent figures were in 2001-02.

Jim Murphy: There are a range of circumstances in which sanctions can be imposed. Those sanctions can be of varying lengths. Information on fixed length sanctions are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of non-disabled individuals with JSA sanctions 1 August 2001 to 31 July 2002 
			   Fixed length sanctions 
			   2 weeks  4 weeks  26 weeks 
			  Female
			 20-29 1,020 160 50 
			 30-39 90 30 0 
			 40-49 60 10 0 
			 50-59 30 0 0 
			 
			  Male
			 20-29 5,990 960 500 
			 30-39 1,280 210 70 
			 40-49 600 90 40 
			 50-59 140 20 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of non-disabled individuals with JSA sanctions 1 August 2005 to 31 July 2006 
			   Fixed length sanctions 
			   2 weeks  4 weeks  26 weeks 
			  Female
			 20-29 1,250 170 60 
			 30-39 110 20 10 
			 40-49 100 10 0 
			 50-59 30 10 0 
			 
			  Male
			 20-29 6,560 1,050 350 
			 30-39 1,340 230 90 
			 40-49 820 140 60 
			 50-59 170 30 0 
			  Notes:  1. Individuals and decisions based figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not sum due to rounding method used.  2. Most recent sanction is shown for each individual.  3. Disability status: disability is self-assessed as having a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.  4. There are no set 13-week sanctions.   Source:  DWP Information Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowances Decisions Statistics Database. Data are cumulative from April 2000 to current data extract date.

Benefit Fraud

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the value of fraudulent benefit claims which could be detected annually if a definitive national database of addresses existed.

James Plaskitt: There has been no estimate made of the value of fraudulent claims which could be detected annually if a definitive national database of addresses existed.

Benefit Fraud

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many fines were issued for benefit fraud in each year for which figures are available; and how much was received from such fines in each year.

James Plaskitt: Information regarding the value of fines is not available. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Fines imposed by court and administrative penalties imposed by DWP 
			   Fines imposed by court  Administrative penalties 
			   Benefit cases( 1)  Instrument of payment fraud  Benefit cases( 1)  Instrument of payment fraud 
			 1999-2000 1,710 333 5,409 72 
			 2000-01 2,074 577 7,575 139 
			 2001-02 1,854 520 6,422 100 
			 2002-03 1,555 453 7,061 128 
			 2003-04 1,432 396 7,882 146 
			 2004-05 1,301 325 8,217 293 
			 2005-06 1,083 168 10,433 437 
			 (1) Not including instrument of payment fraud.  Note: Figures include General Matching Service cases.  Source: Fraud Information by Sector.

Benefit Fraud

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many full-time equivalent fraud investigators his Department employs; and how many customer compliance officers his Department employed in each year since 2004.

James Plaskitt: In April 2006 the National Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) was launched to combat fraud through a more focused, sanction orientated organisation. In addition, from April 2006 we introduced new Customer Compliance Officers to tackle low-level abuse that cannot be taken through the criminal courts. There are currently 810 full-time equivalent staff employed in the Customer Compliance process. Information regarding the number of DWP fraud investigators is in the following table.
	
		
			  DWP fraud investigators (full-time equivalents) 
			  April to March each year:  Number 
			 2004-05 1,843.5 
			 2005-06 1,744.1 
			  Source:  Fraud Business Report 
		
	
	
		
			  DWP fraud investigations 
			   DWP successful prosecutions  DWP cautions and administrative penalties  Total 
			 2004-05 8,573 18,505 27,078 
			 2005-06 8,858 21,413 30,271

Benefit Fraud

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what evaluations his Department has conducted of the use of biometric data as a means by which to reduce benefit fraud.

James Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions recognises that the introduction of identity verification services, to be provided by the Identity and Passport Service as part of the National Identity Card scheme, will have a significant impact on the ability of fraudsters to make claims for social security benefits using more than one identity.
	Work is still ongoing to establish how the Department will make use of the identity verification services and of the impact the National Identity scheme will have on other forms of benefit fraud. This work will take account of the use of biometric data.

Benefit Fraud

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many fraud inspectors there were in his Department to investigate  (a) incapacity benefit fraud and  (b) other benefit fraud in each year since 2004.

James Plaskitt: In April 2006 the National Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) was launched to combat fraud through a more focused, sanction orientated organisation. In addition, from April 2006 we introduced new Customer Compliance Officers to tackle low-level abuse that cannot be taken through the criminal courts.
	Benefit fraud investigators in the Department for Work and Pensions deal with allegations of benefit fraud relating to all benefits administered by this Department. We do not employ a specific number of staff to investigate incapacity benefit.
	
		
			  DWP fraud investigators (full-time equivalents) 
			   Number 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 1,843.5 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 1,744.1 
			  Source: Fraud Business Report 
		
	
	
		
			  DWP fraud investigations 
			   2004-05  2005-06 
			 DWP successful prosecutions 8,573 8,858 
			 DWP cautions and administrative penalties 18,505 21,413 
			 Total 27,078 30,271

Benefit Overpayments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much overpayment his Department recovered in each benefit in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is in the following tables:
	
		
			  2001-02 
			  Benefit  £ 
			 Income Support 106,697,306 
			 Retirement Pension 16,071,753 
			 Child Benefit 12,197,647 
			 JSA Income Based 10,874,478 
			 Incapacity Benefit 8,848,884 
			 Invalid Care Allowance 8,612,812 
			 Attendance Allowance 8,455,373 
			 Disability Living Allowance 5,503,432 
			 Supplementary Benefit 2,517,179 
			 Family Credit 2,281,859 
			 Widows Benefit 2,060,054 
			 Invalidity Benefit 1,633,556 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance 667,286 
			 All Others 1,578,382 
			 Total 188,000,000 
		
	
	
		
			  2002-03 
			  Benefit  £ 
			 Income Support 107,815,912 
			 Retirement Pension 15,027,862 
			 Child Benefit 13,011,176 
			 JSA Income Based 10,465,796 
			 Incapacity Benefit 9,366,763 
			 Attendance Allowance 8,652,332 
			 Invalid Care Allowance 7,741,619 
			 Disability Living Allowance 6,397,545 
			 Supplementary Benefit 2,266,228 
			 Housing Benefit 2,191,025 
			 Widows Benefit 1,843,593 
			 Family Credit 1,651,163 
			 Invalidity Benefit 1,522,511 
			 All Others 2,046,476 
			 Total 190,000,000 
		
	
	
		
			  2003-04 
			  Benefit  £ 
			 Income Support 109,139,417 
			 Retirement Pension 15,090,821 
			 JSA Income Based 12,713,974 
			 Incapacity Benefit 79,211 
			 Attendance Allowance 10,373,746 
			 Disability Living Allowance 8,012,299 
			 Invalid Care Allowance 7,805,497 
			 Housing Benefit 3,006,450 
			 Supplementary Benefit 2,006,181 
			 Invalidity Benefit 1,378,055 
			 Widows Benefit 1,276,144 
			 Family Credit 901,600 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance 719,858 
			 All Others 1,429,747 
			 Total 184,233,000 
		
	
	The reduction in recoveries reflected the transfer of child benefit to the then Inland Revenue.
	
		
			  2004-05 
			  Benefit  £ 
			 Income Support 103,971,529 
			 Retirement Pension 17,035,129 
			 JSA Income Based 13,202,618 
			 Attendance Allowance 11,911,040 
			 Incapacity Benefit 11,647,163 
			 Disability Living Allowance 9,262,766 
			 Invalid Care Allowance 7,210,631 
			 Housing Benefit 3,348,030 
			 Pension Credit 2,921,552 
			 Supplementary Benefit 1,973,086 
			 Invalidity Benefit 1,343,996 
			 Widows Benefit 1 073,049 
			 Carers Allowance 1,010,712 
			 All Others 2,932,698 
			 Total 188,844,000 
		
	
	
		
			  2005-06 
			  Benefit  £ 
			 Income Support 100,018,285 
			 Retirement Pension 16,235,280 
			 JSA Income Based 12,482,730 
			 Attendance Allowance 11,261,577 
			 Incapacity Benefit 11,012,089 
			 Disability Living Allowance 8,757,703 
			 Invalid Care Allowance 6,817,464 
			 Housing Benefit 3,165,475 
			 Pension Credit 2,762,251 
			 Supplementary Benefit 1,865,501 
			 Invalidity Benefit 1,270,713 
			 Widows Benefit 1,014,540 
			 Carers Allowance 955,602 
			 Others 2,772,790 
			 Total 180,392,000 
		
	
	In the seven months since April 2006, a total of £123.28 million has been recovered.
	In recovering an overpayment of benefit, the Department seeks to do so without causing excessive hardship to our claimants. In a majority of cases, recovery will be an ongoing basis, with the average overpayment taking approximately three years to recover.
	In April 2001, the Department initiated the debt programme to bring about increased focus on the management and recovery of benefit overpayments.
	Since then, benefit debt recovery has been centralised in 10 debt centres, and in February 2006 a new computer system was rolled out to support the debt centres.

Benefit Overpayments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the level of overpayment of benefits by his Department was in each of the last eight years.

James Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) on 8 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1614W.

Benefit Overpayments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what basis payments are made to each of the private sector companies contracted to recover benefit overpayments.

James Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) on 18 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1575-76W.

Benefits Simplification Unit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people work in the Benefits Simplification Unit, broken down by civil service grade.

James Plaskitt: There are currently five staff employed on a full-time basis in the Benefit Simplification Unit, one SEO and four HEOs including a secondee from Citizen's Advice, with additional input from a senior civil servant (Grade 5) and a Grade 7.

Carers

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if his Department will take steps to develop a joined-up strategy with the Department for Education and Skills to identify and offer support to those carers who are of school age;
	(2)  what strategies his Department has for extending and developing support for carers under the age of 25; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what strategies his Department has for extending and developing support for carers under the age of 25; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if his Department will take steps to develop a joined up strategy with the Department for Education and Skills to identify and offer support to those carers who are of school age;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on young carers.

Anne McGuire: The Department already works closely with the Department for Education and Skills to ensure joined-up and consistent policy development for carers of school age.
	Carers between 16 and 25 years of age are eligible for the same range of support from DWP as carers of other ages, depending on their personal circumstances. This includes the full range of social security benefits, including carer's allowance, as well as employment-related support from Jobcentre Plus such as work-focused interviews. We have no plans to create specific arrangements for carers below 25, or to change existing arrangements.

Cold Weather Payments

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact of rising fuel prices on the adequacy of cold weather payments; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential impact of climate change on the long-term take-up of cold weather payments.

James Plaskitt: No such assessments have been made.

Departmental Spending

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's spending on  (a) each benefit and  (b) each programme was in (i) cash and (ii) real terms using 2004-05 prices in each year since 1995-96; what his estimate is of the same figures in each year to 2010-11; and what the total annual change is in each case.

Anne McGuire: The available information has been placed in the Library.

Incapacity Benefit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit recipients experienced  (a) mental and  (b) behavioural disorder in each year since 1992, broken down by type of disorder.

Anne McGuire: The available information has been placed in the Library.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people who reached the first anniversary in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in the most recent year for which figures are available were in work  (a) one year and  (b) two years later; and how many there were (i) in total, (ii) aged 25 to 49 and (iii) aged over 50 years.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table and represents the minimum numbers and proportions of people who satisfy the given criteria.
	
		
			  New claims for jobseeker's allowance, April 2004 to March 2005 
			   Proportion (Percentage)  Total  Aged 25 to 49  Aged 50 and over 
			 In work six months later 39 672,650 331,960 99,150 
			 In work one year later 43 740,130 366,520 107,540 
			  Notes: 1. Data on employment are available to 26 November 2006. As such, the latest operational year of new claimants for which  (a) and  (c) are answerable is April 2004 to March 2005, and the latest operational year of claims reaching their first anniversary for which  (b) and  (d) are answerable is April 2003 to March 2004 (and thus relates to people making a new claim during April 2002 and March 2003). 2. The figures quoted in this response come from data in the National Benefits Database and the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS). 3. Figures in this response are based upon periods of employment measured from the WPLS, which is based on data from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The figures given can only be taken as a minimum for the following (not necessarily comprehensive) reasons: (i) Some records show that a person started or ended employment at some point in the year, but the exact date on when they started or left their job is unknown, and therefore we do not know if they were employed at the points in time specified in this query. (ii) If a person's earnings are sufficiently low that they fall below the lower income tax threshold and so are not required to pay PAYE income tax on their earnings then there is no requirement to inform HMRC of their employment (although some employers declare these jobs anyway). (iii) These data do not include the self-employed. (iv) Poor quality personal data may lead to missed matches with benefits data. (v) No 'HMRC sensitive and secure' information is supplied by HMRC (for example, HMRC employees, members of the security services).

National Insurance Numbers

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the total value of welfare benefit claims made by individuals issued with a national insurance number who were referred to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate due to  (a) suspicion about their eligibility to work in the UK,  (b) the use of false documents and  (c) other reasons in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.

National Insurance Numbers

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average waiting time was for an overseas national to obtain a national insurance number  (a) in-country and  (b) from abroad in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.

Pensions: Overseas

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what consideration has been given to ensuring that both indexed and frozen pensions of British nationals overseas are treated equally in respect of uprating;
	(2)  what plans he has to update the list of countries with which the UK has reciprocal arrangements providing for the uprating of pensions of overseas British nationals.

James Purnell: The UK state pension is uprated for UK pensioners living overseas where there is a reciprocal social security agreement or a legal requirement to do so. The domestic courts have said that there are justifiable grounds for the Government not to uprate pensions abroad outside those arrangements.
	We have no plans to negotiate any new reciprocal social security agreements.

Unemployment Benefits

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on unemployment benefits in  (a) 1997 and  (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Unemployment benefits expenditure 
			  cash terms (£ million) 
			   1997-98( 1)  2005-06( 2) 
			 Jobseeker's allowance—income-based 3,418 1,800 
			 Jobseeker's allowance—contribution-based 475 489 
			 Total 3,893 2,289 
			 (1 )Outturn (2 )Estimated outturn 
		
	
	
		
			  Unemployment benefits expenditure 
			  real terms 2006-07 prices (£ million) 
			   1997-98( 1)  2005-06( 2) 
			 Jobseeker's allowance—income-based 4,201 1,844 
			 Jobseeker's allowance—contribution-based 584 500 
			 Total 4,785 2,344 
			 (1 )Outturn (2 )Estimated outturn  Notes: All figures have been rounded to the nearest million pounds. All information is consistent with the Budget report 2006.  Source: DWP expenditure Tables 3, 4 and 7

Welfare Benefits

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which welfare benefits are administered by his Department; and what the level of overpayment of each has been in the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The main benefits administered by this Department are listed as follows:
	Attendance allowance
	Bereavement benefits, which include widowed parent's allowance and bereavement allowance.
	Carer's allowance
	Disability living allowance
	Incapacity benefit
	Income support
	Industrial injuries disablement benefit
	Industrial death benefit
	Jobseeker's allowance
	Maternity allowance
	Pension credit
	State pension
	Severe disablement allowance
	Widows benefits, including widowed mother's allowance and widow's pension.
	Some of the aforementioned benefits have been replaced and are no longer available to new claimants.
	The following table shows the level of overpayment in the main benefits. Some linked benefits have been combined for the purposes of the table.
	The table represents only those overpayments that have been identified and recorded on departmental systems. During this period, the majority of overpayments that arose due to official error, were not formally calculated and entered onto systems. As part of an agreement with HMT, their value was estimated and recorded separately.
	
		
			  Level of overpayments identified and entered on systems, as a percentage of the relevant expenditure for each benefit 
			  Percentage 
			  Benefit  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Attendance allowance 0.46 0.40 0.48 0.42 0.24 
			 Disability living allowance 0.19 0.17 0.19 0.20 0.23 
			 Invalidity and incapacity benefits 0.31 0.33 0.39 0.40 0.41 
			 Income support 1.39 1.26 1.03 1.65 2.18 
			 Industrial injuries benefits 0.07 0.06 0.03 0.05 0.08 
			 Invalid care and carers allowances 0.88 0.75 0.73 1.27 1.07 
			 Jobseekers allowance 0.85 0.85 0.89 1.20 1.07 
			 Maternity allowance 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.07 0.07 
			 Pension credit(1) — — — 0.09 0.21 
			 Retirement/state pension 0.07 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.07 
			 Severe disablement allowance 0.12 0.15 0.14 0.11 0.14 
			 Widows and bereavement benefits 0.31 0.28 0.18 0.23 0.30 
			 (1) Pension credit was introduced in October 2003.  Note: Overpayment data for pension credit in 2003-04 included in income support data.

Welfare Strategy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what areas he expects the long-term review of the Government's welfare to work strategy to consider;
	(2)  when the long-term review of the Government's welfare to work strategy is planned  (a) to commence and  (b) to conclude.

Jim Murphy: The Department is undertaking a wide-ranging review of our welfare to work strategy, to consider how we can best tackle economic inactivity and promote social mobility over the coming decade. This review is considering all aspects of welfare to work policy and delivery, and will form part of the wider policy review process the Prime Minister initiated in the autumn.
	David Freud is contributing to this process and is currently looking at experience from this country and from elsewhere. We expect him to let us have his conclusions in the next few months.

Welfare Strategy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what requirements he has placed on City Strategy Consortia for engagement with private and voluntary sector providers of welfare to work services.

Jim Murphy: City consortia will be partnerships of key local agencies involved in tackling worklessness that come together behind shared objectives and greater responsibility for local delivery to increase the numbers taking up work.
	Guidance issued to support pathfinder areas in developing their business plans requires them to set out how the consortium will engage the voluntary and community sector, how they will take account of their views in developing programme design and delivery, and what plans they have to build the capacity of voluntary and community sector organisations to support the consortium in achieving its aims.

Welfare Strategy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who the members are of the City Strategy Project Board.

Jim Murphy: The City Strategy Project Board is an official level group chaired by the Department for Work and Pensions and further made up of representatives from Jobcentre Plus, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department of Trade and Industry, HM Treasury, the Department for Education and Skills, the Learning and Skills Council, the Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly Government, the Greater London Authority, the Government Office and Regional Development Agency networks, the National Employment Panel and the Local Government Association.

Winter Fuel Payments

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to reform the procedures for allocating winter fuel allowance to British nationals overseas on the basis of the winter temperatures in each area.

James Purnell: European Community law provides that, in certain circumstances, some benefits acquired in one member state must be paid to people who live outside that state but within the European economic area. The Government agreed with the European Commission that winter fuel payments would be made to eligible former UK residents living elsewhere in the European economic area or Switzerland only if they qualified for a winter fuel payment before leaving the UK. We must treat all those states equally and may not therefore make payments in countries within the European economic area based on winter temperatures.

Winter Fuel Payments

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will extend winter fuel payments to people with disabilities aged under 60 with a medically assessed need to keep their homes at a steady high temperature.

James Purnell: Help is already available through disability benefits and the disability premium in income-related benefits in recognition of the extra costs, including heating, which disabled people may have. We have no plans to extend the payments to disabled people aged under 60.

HEALTH

Audiology

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been allocated to  (a) research in audiology and  (b) new audiology equipment in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) each of the next two financial years.

Ivan Lewis: The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the UK Government support medical and clinical research.
	Total MRC expenditure on hearing research in 2004-05, the latest year for which figures are available, was £4.8 million.
	The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national health service. The Department's national research programmes will spend some £302,000 in 2006-07 on projects related to audiology.
	Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by NHS organisations. Details of individual projects, including a significant number concerned with audiology, are available on the national research register at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/research.
	It is for local providers to plan and commission appropriate services for their local population. This includes how much is allocated for new audiology equipment in each financial year.
	In 2006-07, the Department allocated an NHS central revenue budget of £5.5 billion across all the strategic health authorities (SHAs). It is the responsibility of SHAs to reach agreement with their local NHS trusts and primary care trusts over the allocation of these resources, including those for audiology, to best meet local need.
	In addition capital allocations for audiology services in 2006-07 amounted to £26 million.
	The NHS operating framework, published in December 2006 confirmed that there would be another SHA bundle of central budgets for 2007-08 with a proposed value of £6,945.9 million, to include audiology. The 2007-08 bundle will be supplemented by a service level agreement between the Department and the SHAs. This agreement will include details of the services to be provided from the bundle, and governance and accountability arrangements.

Births

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many deliveries as a proportion of total births required assistance from a consultant in Hartlepool constituency in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many births as a proportion of total births were categorised as  (a) low risk,  (b) medium risk and  (c) high risk in Hartlepool constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not collected centrally.

Brent Teaching Primary Care Trust

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the long-term impact of changes in Brent Teaching Primary Care Trust service provision on health and social care services in Brent; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: It is Brent Teaching primary care trust's (PCT) responsibility to deliver a responsive health service and improve the health of local people. This means that the PCT will often have to make difficult decisions about how their resources are prioritised and spent.
	I understand that Brent Teaching PCT has proposals as part of a turnaround plan to make savings across the range of its services amounting to £14 million in this financial year and £29 million next year. The plan is to enable it to fulfil its statutory obligation to break even by March 2008.
	Furthermore, I understand that Brent Teaching PCT is reviewing all the 1,150 patients it fully funds who are receiving care in the community and in nursing homes to ascertain their level of health needs, and that Brent council has been invited to participate in these reviews as well as in the decision making process.
	Since 2003, Brent Teaching PCT has received the following allocations which have increased on a year-by-year basis:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 291.02 
			 2004-05 319.86 
			 2005-06 351.99 
			 2006-07 407.60 
			 2007-08 440.84 
		
	
	NHS London is conducting a review of health care across London, with the aim of producing a framework for how the national health service will meet London's health needs over the next five to 10 years. An initial document, setting out draft proposals and models of service for patients, will be published in March 2007. A process of wide-ranging public engagement and discussion will produce a final health strategy for London which will be published in summer 2007.

Carers

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to ensure that  (a) voluntary sector organisations' independence is not compromised in relation to their advocacy role for carers and  (b) when carrying out carers' assessments under contract to local authorities such arrangements do not lead to statutory carers' assessments being viewed as less important by statutory service providers;
	(2)  how many local authorities have put out to tender their statutory carers' assessments to voluntary sector organisations; and what assessment she has made on the outcome for carers of putting such assessments out to tender;
	(3)  if she will take steps to encourage local authorities to put out to tender statutory carers' assessments to voluntary sector organisations.

Ivan Lewis: The duty to carry out a carer's assessment, if requested, lies with the local authority and cannot be delegated except to a national health service body as part of partnership arrangements under section 31 of the Health Act 1999.
	A local authority may arrange for the actual process of carrying out the assessment to be undertaken by a voluntary organisation on their behalf. However, the authority remains responsible for ensuring that each assessment is valid, fair and comprehensive and for considering the implications of the assessment for its provision of services.
	The number of local authorities who have made arrangements for voluntary sector organisations to assist them by carrying out the process of statutory carers' assessments is not held centrally. We have made no assessment on the outcome for carers of involving voluntary sector organisations in this way. In addition, we have no plans to take steps to encourage local authorities to arrange for the process of assessments to be carried out by voluntary sector organisations.
	It is for voluntary sector organisations to satisfy themselves that their independence and any advocacy function that they have is not compromised by their involvement in carers' assessments.
	Regardless of who carries out the process of an assessment, local authorities retain the statutory responsibility for those assessments. Local authorities should therefore treat the results of those assessments in precisely the same way as they would those carried out by their own staff.

Child Obesity

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in England were  (a) overweight and  (b) obese in the last period for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: The latest data available for the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children are from the Health Survey for England 2005. The data showed that in England, 15.7 per cent. of boys aged two to 15 were classed as overweight (but not obese), and 18.3 per cent. were classed as obese. Among girls aged two to 15, 12.9 per cent. were classed as overweight (but not obese), and 18.3 per cent. were classed as obese.
	 Source:
	Health Survey for England—updating of trend tables to include 2005 data. The Information Centre

Clinical Assessment Treatment and Support Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will consult  (a) GPs and  (b) other clinicians in Cumbria and Lancashire on the transfer of clinical assessment treatment and support services to the independent sector;
	(2)  if she will consult trade unions on the effect on levels of employment in the NHS in Lancashire and Cumbria of the transfer of clinical assessment treatment and support services to the independent sector.

Andy Burnham: The six primary care trusts (PCTs) in Cumbria and Lancashire are currently carrying out public consultation on clinical assessment and treatment and support services in the two counties. The PCTs are actively engaging with health professionals who work within the national health service, their representative and those who employ them.

Diamorphine

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1707W, on diamorphine, 
	(1)  how much diamorphine is held in reserve in the UK; and how much diamorphine was required by the NHS in 2006;
	(2)  what shortages of diamorphine are being experienced by the NHS.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 22 January 2007
	Both suppliers of diamorphine to the United Kingdom are working to their full available capacity, and are supplying the market on a regular and frequent basis. They are currently unable to produce enough to meet historic demand, although that demand may have changed due to changes in prescribing practice. We expect the situation to improve during 2007, and in the meantime we believe that through careful prescribing and use of available stocks, patient care is not being compromised. This is in part because we arranged for the increased production and availability of alternative drugs such as morphine when the problem arose in December 2004.
	The amount of diamorphine held in the supply chain at any one time varies, according to a number of factors including the manufacturers' production schedules. All presentations are currently available.
	The value of dispensing for 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available, shows that the net ingredient cost for community dispensing was £18.0 million and estimated hospital cost was £17.9 million.

Disabled Children: Respite Care

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of disabled children in each London borough used respite care home placements in each of the last 10 years.

Parmjit Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not collected centrally.

Disabled Children: Respite Care

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of disabled children in Chorley have used respite care home placements in the last 10 years.

Parmjit Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not collected centrally.

Disabled Children: Respite Care

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of disabled children in Eastbourne have used respite care home placements in each of the last 10 years.

Parmjit Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
	Information on disabled children in Eastbourne who have used respite care home placements is not collected centrally.

Independent Sector Providers

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis was for the statement by the primary care trusts of Lancashire and Cumbria that independent sector providers can provide clinical assessment, treatment and support services at better value for money than existing NHS trusts.

Andy Burnham: The clinical assessment, treatment and support (CATS) services for Cumbria and Lancashire will provide clinical consultations, diagnostic tests and minor treatment on one site. Patients using CATS services are likely to attend health services on fewer occasions than under a traditional out-patient care pathway, resulting in lower costs.

Independent Sector Providers

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the proportion of NHS funds provided to independent sector providers of clinical assessment, treatment and support services likely to be paid out in dividends.

Andy Burnham: As private companies, the payment of dividends by the independent sector provider is dependent upon financial performance of the company, investment decisions and shareholders' resolutions. It is not possible to link payments for the clinical assessment and treatment services (CATS) to any interim or final dividend paid out by the company.
	The CATS scheme aims to deliver value for money to the local health economy by procuring cost-effective triaging of general practitioner referrals and a range of diagnostics capacity. Primary care trusts will pay national health service tariff for these services.

Infusion Devices

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the gravity of the incidents referred to in paragraph 5.108 of her Department's 2006 annual report relating to infusion devices; what the reasons were for the time taken to rectify the fault; and what the reason is for the range of possible savings given.

Ivan Lewis: In 2002, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) identified a number of infusion device incidents associated with user error. The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), as soon as it had been set up, decided that this was a priority area to look into. It therefore conducted a six-month pilot study from May to November 2003 to identify baseline rates of error in the use of infusion devices. During the study 321 safety incidents were identified.
	On the basis of the pilot study the NPSA concluded that the national health service required further advice on the use of infusion devices. In May 2004, the NPSA issued a safer practice notice on improving infusion device safety to trusts in England and Wales. The intervening period was used to identify an effective solution and to develop the safer practice notice, which took into account the pilot study and other relevant research.
	The range of possible savings was taken from research carried out by a health economist. The reason for the wide range of savings made by the different trusts is due to the existing varying levels of implementation of the notice. There were indications that savings have been made in a number of different areas such as reduced stock maintenance costs, more efficient use of nursing time and reduced costs as a result of infusion errors. These savings would be maximised in trusts that prior to the issue of the safer practice notice had been less effective at managing their stock of infusion devices. On the other hand where trusts were already making effective use of their stock of infusion devices, the savings would be minimised. The extreme range of the savings is emphasised by year on year long-term effect of better stock management procedures.

Medicines and Healthcare Products

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  for what reasons she proposes to increase Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency fees above inflation; and what account was taken of the April 2006 increase in fees in making such proposals;
	(2)  when she expects  (a) consultation MLX 335 on Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency fees will be closed and  (b) fee levels for 2007-08 to be implemented;
	(3)  what discussions Ministers have had with  (a) pharmaceutical companies and  (b) representative bodies on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's proposals to increase fees in April 2007.

Caroline Flint: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is required, as a trading fund, to recover the costs of its medicines regulatory functions through fee income. The agency is required to assess cost pressures to ensure that fee income can fully recover costs. Fees levels were subject to significant increases in April 2006 following new legislation that expanded the agency's responsibilities in order more effectively to protect public health. In recognition of this, the agency's aim has been to keep fees increases for the coming year to the lowest possible level. The proposals set out in the agency's consultation document (MLX 335) include some fees where no increase is proposed—for instance, for wholesale dealers, and for companies who adopt the new international standard for electronic licence applications, which will have speed and efficiency benefits for both the agency and pharmaceutical companies. The average rate of the proposed increases, across the agency's business, is 4.9 per cent. The income from these increases will cover pay and other cost increases, but will in particular be focused on supporting the agency's ability to deliver further improvements in the service it provides to companies—something the industry has said it would wish to see. The consultation paper, and its supporting draft regulatory impact assessment, covers these issues in further detail.
	The consultation on MIX 335 closes on 5 February 2007 with a proposed implementation date for the new fee levels on 1 April 2007.
	Representatives from MHRA have held extensive discussions with industry associations both before the start of the consultation period and after its publication. These discussions included the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, the Proprietary Association of Great Britain, the British Generic Manufacturers Association, the BioIndustry Association and the Ethical Medicines Industry Group. A further meeting with all these associations will take place on 30 January. Ministers have met pharmaceutical industry representatives on a number of occasions in recent months. The issue of MHRA fees has not been raised in those discussions.

Medicines and Healthcare Products

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the impact that the time taken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to process applications has had on when pharmaceutical products reach the market.

Caroline Flint: The time taken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the assessment and determination of applications for licensing of medicinal products, and for their subsequent variation, lengthened for most product types during 2006. This was as a result of a number of operational difficulties primarily related to the introduction of a new electronic data and document management system.
	The MHRA has introduced a number of steps to improve its performance in this respect and these changes are now beginning to take effect. Following discussion with representatives of the medicines trade associations a number of new performance measures have been agreed and these are soon to be published on the MHRA's website,
	www.mhra.gov.uk.
	During this difficult period the MHRA has tried to ensure that any delays in its work did not prevent the placing on the market of essential medicines. Where necessary product licence applications and variations for such medicines were prioritised and then processed as rapidly as possible.

Ministerial Visits

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals located in constituencies represented by Conservative hon. Members  (a) she and  (b) other Ministers in her Department have visited since May 2005; and on which dates such visits took place.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 22 January 2007
	Information on which hospitals the Secretary of State for Heath and Ministers in the Department have visited which are located in constituencies represented by Conservative hon. Members and the date of the visits are shown in the table.
	
		
			   Minister  Hospital  Constituency 
			  2005
			 26 May Patricia Hewitt Hinchingbrooke Hospital Huntingdon 
			 31 May Patricia Hewitt Queen Elizabeth Hospital North West Norfolk 
			 7 June Patricia Hewitt Scarborough District General Hospital Scarborough and Whitby 
			 27 June Patricia Hewitt St. Bartholomew's Hospital Cities of London and Westminster 
			 15 July Rosie Winterton Castle Hill Hospital Haltemprice and Howden 
			 19 July Jane Kennedy Hinckley and Bosworth Community Hospital Bosworth 
			 27 July Rosie Winterton St. Mary's Hospital Cities of London and Westminster 
			 3 November Lord Warner Hillingdon Hospital Uxbridge 
			 9 November Rosie Winterton St. Bartholomew's Hospital Cities of London and Westminster 
			 24 November Jane Kennedy Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Kensington and Chelsea 
			 13 December Rosie Winterton Broadmoor Hospital Bracknell 
			  2006
			 30 January Lord Warner Beckenham Hospital Beckenham 
			 2 March Rosie Winterton South Essex Partnership Rochford and Southend East 
			 11 March Rosie Winterton University College Hospital London Cities of London and Westminster 
			 1 June Andy Burnham Princess Royal Hospital Mid Sussex 
			 1 June Andy Burnham Royal Berkshire Hospital Reading East 
			 1 June Andy Burnham Salisbury Hospital Salisbury 
			 20 June Lord Warner St. Bartholomew's Hospital Cities of London and Westminster 
			 26 June Patricia Hewitt Cambridge Mental Health Trust Huntingdon 
			 24 July Andy Burnham Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital Chipping Barnet 
			 25 July Patricia Hewitt Cirencester Hospital Cotswold 
			 27 July Andy Burnham Peterborough District Hospital Peterborough 
			 12 September Andy Burnham Newark Hospital Newark 
			 10 October Rosie Winterton Oxleas National Health Service Foundation Trust Hospital Bromley and Chislehurst 
			 18 October Rosie Winterton Oldchurch Hospital Romford

Mount Care Home, Morpeth

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will order an inquiry into the process and outcomes for former residents of the closure of the Mount Care Home, Morpeth;
	(2)  how many former residents of the Mount Care Home, Morpeth have died since moving from the home under its closure process in the last  (a) three,  (b) six and  (c) 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: No. The Department expects that care home closures will be handled sensitively, that arrangements will be made for the satisfactory transfer of residents to other suitable homes and that adequate time will be allowed for the process, so that residents and their relatives can have real choice over where they are to live and the minimum possible discomfort is caused to all concerned.
	Care homes may close for a number of reasons, including lack of financial viability, the retirement of the owner in the case of privately run homes, or the fact that the premises do not meet modern quality and safety standards. Residents may also need to move if their assessed needs have changed and their present home can no longer adequately care for them. This is especially true in the case of older residents, whose increasing frailty may mean that their health and well-being will be best assured by their moving to an alternative home which is better equipped to meet their needs.
	It is a matter for local authorities, as autonomous public bodies, to decide how best to meet the need for social services, including residential care, in their areas, having regard for their resources and the care needs of their populations.
	The information requested on the deaths of former residents of the Mount Care Home is not collected by the Department.

NHS Finance

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is categorised under Other Expenditure for Administration in figure 8.1 of her Department's annual report; and whether consultants are included.

Ivan Lewis: In figure 8.1 of the Department's annual report, apart from expenditure on the paybill, Other includes all other expenditure relevant to the running of the Department such as accommodation, IT and staff training. Other also includes expenditure on consultancy.

Social Enterprise Pathfinders

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions took place with regional development agencies in determining social enterprise pathfinder programmes;
	(2)  what advice was received from educational institutions and learning and skills councils in determining social enterprise pathfinder programmes;
	(3)  which external bodies were consulted in determining social enterprise pathfinder programmes;
	(4)  what liaison there was with other Government Departments in determining social enterprise pathfinder programme areas.

Ivan Lewis: The social enterprise pathfinder programme is a Department of Health programme, which supports the development of social enterprises in health and social care.
	Departmental officials have discussed the work of the social enterprise unit, including the pathfinder programme, with representatives from the regional development agencies. Officials have also liaised with other Government Departments, including the Office of the Third Sector and the Department for Communities and Local Government, and other external bodies about the pathfinder programme generally, but not about the selection of individual pathfinders.
	There has been no formal discussion with educational institutions and learning and skills councils. However, the Department asked strategic health authorities to discuss the pathfinder applications with regional stakeholders, including regional development agencies.

Social Services: Canterbury

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of central Government grant to local government for social services in Canterbury local authority area was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The provision of social services in the Canterbury area is the responsibility of Kent county council. Funding for local authorities' social service responsibilities are paid through formula grant (revenue support grant and national non-domestic rates) and specific grant. Formula grant is unhypothecated provision and decisions on the use of that grant are for local authorities to make, bearing in mind their statutory responsibilities and the wishes of their electorate. Under the provisional local government finance settlement 2007-08, Kent county council receives a formula grant of £228.685 million which is an increase of 2.7 per cent. on a like for like basis. In addition, Kent will receive the following revenue grants for adult social care amounting to £42.591 million:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 Access and systems capacity 13.386 
			 Child and adolescent mental health services 1.786 
			 Carers grants 4.353 
			 Commission for social care inspection 0.017 
			 Delayed discharge 2.477 
			 HR development strategy 1.082 
			 Improving management information 0.479 
			 Mental health grant 2.870 
			 National training strategy 2.335 
			 Preserved rights 12.217 
			 Preventative technology grant 1.245 
			 Mental Capacity Act and the Independent Mental Capacity Advocate 0.344

Target Savings: Milton Keynes PCT

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the target savings at Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust are in the  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08 financial years, broken down by workstream.

Andy Burnham: The information requested for the financial year 2006-07 is contained in the following table. The Department does not yet have the information requested for 2007-08 as the organisation has not yet produced its turnaround plan for that financial year.
	The primary care trust (PCT) is receiving on-going support from a local project management office function and was assisted by an external consultant company in the development of its turnaround plan. Implementation of the plan is being closely performance managed by the strategic health authority turnaround director and the National Programme Office (NPO).
	The latest progress report submitted to the NPO indicates that the PCT is targeting gross in-year savings of £16.0 million. The progress report dated 8 January indicates that the primary care trust has achieved £4.5 million to date out of a target £4.6 million (month nine) and the current forecast in-year outturn is a £8.8 million deficit.
	
		
			  Milton Keynes PCT month nine savings 
			  £000 
			  Workstream title  Year to date actual savings  Full year revised target 
			 Provider services—decommission services — — 
			 Provider services—decommission services — — 
			 Provider services—service redesign 537 727 
			 Provider services—service redesign (repatriation) 12 49 
			 Provider services—efficiency measures 614 760 
			 Provider services—efficiency measures (agency) 34 227 
			 Provider services—efficiency measures — — 
			 Provider services—procurement 147 185 
			 Provider services—procurement — — 
			 Commissioning—changes in clinical pathways 161 214 
			 Commissioning—changes in clinical pathways — — 
			 Commissioning—changes in clinical pathways — — 
			 Commissioning—pre-authorisation of care (Cons to Cons outpat) 417 625 
			 Commissioning—pre -authorisation of care (delisting) — 320 
			 Commissioning—post billing verification 49 250 
			 Commissioning—post billing verification 48 48 
			 Commissioning—coding issues (assessment units, short stay etc.) 537 805 
			 Commissioning—other (mainly service level agreement block discount) 1,010 1,515 
			 Commissioning—other 42 89 
			 Primary care—prescribing 708 1,036 
			 Primary care—dental 23 100 
			 Primary care—dental — 37 
			 Primary care—review of contracts 38 50 
			 Primary care—review of contracts — — 
			 PCT support—capital 175 505 
			 PCT support—prescribing — — 
			 Unidentified projects — 8,801 
			 Subtotal 4,526 16,343 
			  Source: NPO

Waiting Times

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which clinical specialities met waiting time targets for treatment in Blackpool, South in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: At the end of November 2006 there were no patients resident in the Blackpool Primary Care Trust area waiting more than 13 weeks for a first outpatient appointment or waiting more than 26 weeks for in-patient treatment for any clinical specialty.

Water Fluoridation

Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what advice she issues to strategic health authorities on seeking advice from expert bodies when drawing up proposals on water fluoridation in their area;
	(2)  what water fluoridation projects  (a) have been developed since 2003 and  (b) are in the process of being developed in the (i) East Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA), (ii) East of England SHA, (iii) London SHA, (iv) North East SHA, (v) North West SHA, (vi) South Centra SHA, (vii) South East SHA, (viii) South West SHA, (ix) West Midlands SHA and (x) Yorkshire and the Humber SHA; and what (A) advice and (B) support her Department has given the strategic health authorities in drawing up these plans.

Rosie Winterton: In September 2005, the Department issued guidance to strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trust chief executives on fluoridation of drinking water (Gateway reference 5136). The guidance included advice on the evidence base on fluoridation, the need for discussions with local water undertakers and with the Water Services Regulatory Authority, and the need to seek expert legal advice. The guidance also referred to "One in a Million—the facts about water fluoridation", published by the British Fluoridation Society, as a useful source of information in conducting public consultations on fluoridation schemes.
	No SHA has yet reached the stage of making a formal announcement about a consultation. In 2005, the Department allocated £32,000 to the former Greater Manchester SHA to fund a technical feasibility study.

Water Fluoridation

Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health to which organisations her Department  (a) provides funding for research and  (b) gives expert advice to strategic health authorities on water fluoridation; what funding each of these organisations has received since 2000-01; and what funding has been allocated for 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Rosie Winterton: From 2000-01 to 2005-06, the Department made the following grants to the British Fluoridation Society (BFS) to promote the benefits of water fluoridation. There has been no subsequent departmental funding for the BFS.
	
		
			   Grant (£) 
			 2000-01 80,000 
			 2001-02 82,000 
			 2002-03 84,050 
			 2003-04 85,000 
			 2004-05 87,000 
			 2005-06 90,000 
		
	
	In each of the three years 2004-05 to 2006-07, the Department made grants of £125,000 to the National Fluoride Information Centre, which provides scientific information on research studies carried out into the effect of adding fluoride to water and other mediums such as milk and table salt. No funding has yet been allocated for 2007-08 or 2008-09.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Arm's Length Management Organisations

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the housing debt of local authorities is treated when they  (a) opt for large scale stock transfer and  (b) set up an arm's-length management organisation; how much debt has been transferred from local authorities as a result of such transfers since 1997; what interest is paid on debt which is managed in that way; who pays the interest on that debt; whether liability for the debt remains in the public sector borrowing account; and what assets stand as security on the debt.

Yvette Cooper: Upon large-scale voluntary transfer a local authority may use the capital receipt arising from the stock transfer to extinguish housing debt, or may decide it makes better financial sense to continue to support the debt that might have been paid off and invest the capital receipt. There may be overhanging debt if the capital receipt from the Registered Social Landlord receiving the stock is insufficient to clear the housing related debt held by the authority with the Public Works Loan Board.
	Any overhanging housing debt arising from a housing stock transfer is cleared by a payment from Communities and Local Government. These payments are made from an Annually Managed Expenditure Budget held by the Department. Under this arrangement debt moves from one part of the public sector to another, and in consequence there is no net increase in the public sector borrowing requirement. Around £2.3 billion of overhanging debt payments have been made since 1997. The Exchequer meets the interest payments on debt that it holds.
	When a local authority establishes an ALMO to manage its housing stock the treatment of housing related debt does not change. The cost of servicing the debt remains within the authority's Housing Revenue Account.
	Local authorities do not use assets as security for borrowing. Rather, borrowing is secured against revenue income streams.

Business Improvement Districts

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many business improvement districts have been established; and what assessment she has made of their performance.

Phil Woolas: There are currently 36 business improvement districts (BIDs) in England and Wales. A nature and extent study of BIDs in England will be published shortly on the Communities and Local Government website.

Commission on Integration and Cohesion

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to receive the first report of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Commission on Integration and Cohesion will publish an interim statement in spring 2007 and will present its final report to the Secretary of State in June 2007.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Minister of State will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 5 December 2006, on spy cameras at household rubbish tips.

Phil Woolas: The subject matter of the hon. Member's letter is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who will therefore respond directly to it.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will reply to the letter of 12 December 2006 from the hon. Member for Walsall, North concerning a constituent.

Meg Munn: I have now replied to my hon. Friend's letter.

Correspondence

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Minister of State in her Department will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Congleton of  (a) 19 July,  (b) 4 October and  (c) 6 December 2006, on the introduction of home information packs.

Yvette Cooper: I have now responded to the hon. Member's correspondence. I apologise for this unacceptable delay.

Council Houses

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average rents were for local authority housing in each London borough in 2006-07.

Yvette Cooper: Average weekly rent by local authority district is published for the local authority sector on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 702. The link for this table is given as follows:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/266/Table702_id1156266 .xls

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 886-7W, on council tax, from which bodies the  (a) administrative costs and  (b) programme expenditure of the new parish councils in London will be funded.

Phil Woolas: As in other areas, where local people in London have decided they want a parish council, and that democratically elected council decides to issue a precept, this will be met by the council taxpayers in the parish and collected by the London borough council for the area.

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to offer council tax discounts for homes which grow grass on their roof.

Phil Woolas: None. No decisions about any reform to the council tax system will be made until we have carefully considered the recommendations of the final report of the Lyons' inquiry which will be published around the time of the Budget.

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations her Department and its predecessor have received on the frequency of council tax revaluations in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: The Department does not hold a record of representations received about the frequency of council tax revaluations in the last 12 months.

Domestic Waste

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department maintains a list of councils that have moved to alternate weekly collection of domestic waste.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is aware of a number of local authorities (LAs) providing alternate weekly collection of household waste and provides support and guidance to these LAs on best practice in operating such a service.
	However, as this area is subject to rapid change, WRAP cannot guarantee that information it holds on LAs operating an alternate weekly collection service is up to date.

English Language Promotion

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to promote the use of the English language in the UK.

Phil Woolas: The Department recognises the importance of promoting the use of the English language in ensuring effective integration, continuing good race relations and building community cohesion. Knowledge of English increases individuals' employment prospects, educational outcomes, and the ease with which they can carry out day to day life. The Government actively promote English language proficiency. English is part of the national curriculum. Since 2001 we have invested over £1 billion in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL); over 1.8 million ESOL learning opportunities have been taken up; and over 160,000 learners have achieved a first 'Skills for Life' ESOL qualification. Those wishing to become British citizens are required to show language competence and from 2 April 2007, this will be extended to those seeking permanent settlement. My Department has asked the independent Commission on Integration and Cohesion to look at this issue as part of its final report in June 2007.

Fire and Rescue Service

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) work-related and  (b) fire-related injuries were sustained by West Lancashire fightfighers in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not held centrally.
	This information for the whole of the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service was provided to the hon. Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) on 22 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1520W.

Fire and Rescue Service

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) work-related and  (b) fire-related injuries were sustained by East Sussex firefighters in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information available is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of East Sussex firefighters injured 
			   At fires  Other work related  Total 
			 2001-02 39 78 117 
			 2002-03 38 53 91 
			 2003-04 70 78 148 
			 2004-05 38 77 115 
			 2005-06 51 72 123 
			  Note:  15 days were lost because of strike action in 2002-03.   Source:  Fire and Rescue Service returns to Communities and Local Government.

Home Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the minimum amount of time is that must pass before the £200 penalty charge for marketing a home without a Home Information Pack can be repeated if there is an ongoing breach.

Yvette Cooper: The payment of a penalty charge notice does not entitle the responsible person to continue marketing in breach of the Home Information Pack duties. To do so could render them liable to further penalty charge notices if a local authority weights and measures authority decided on the facts of the individual case that more than one breach of the duties had occurred. The decision on whether to serve a penalty charge notice, and the timing of any further notice, if one has already been served would be a matter for each authority.

Home Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost was of the extension to the Home Information Pack dry run.

Yvette Cooper: As we announced on 21 September 2006, the extension of the Home Information Pack dry run to include six area trials will cost up to £4 million. We will use the funding to ensure that home buyers and sellers in the trial areas understand the benefits of having a full HIP, including a home condition report; to incentivise sellers to buy a HIP; and to employ independent researchers to monitor what is going on so that we get a fully objective picture.

Homebuy Scheme

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the total value of Government equity loans to be provided as part of the Open Market HomeBuy scheme; and on what basis this estimate has been made.

Yvette Cooper: From the 1 April 2006 to end December 2006 the value of the loans provided by the Government as part of Open Market HomeBuy and Expanded Open Market HomeBuy is £76 million. The administration cost associated is £3 million. Alongside the Government's equity loans are significant private sector equity loans to increase the help for first time buyers.

Homebuy Scheme

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households she expects to participate in each of  (a) Social Homebuy,  (b) Open Market Homebuy and  (c) New Build Homebuy in each year of the proposed scheme's operations.

Yvette Cooper: We are investing £970 million to help 35,000 households into low cost home ownership through the Housing Corporation's two-year programme in 2006-08 with 11,000 through Open Market HomeBuy and 24,000 being assisted through New Build HomeBuy or previous similar shared ownership schemes. The pilots for Social Homebuy are currently under way and the final number of households helped through Social Homebuy will be dependent on participation by social landlords and tenants.

House Building

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she expects her target of building 200,000 homes a year by 2016 to be met; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Government's response to Kate Barker's Review of Housing Supply, published in December 2005, set out an ambition to increase housing supply to 200,000 per annum by 2016.
	Good progress has been made at this early stage. Net additions to the housing stock for 2004-05 stood at 168,000, up from a low of around 130,000 in 2001-02, and our monitoring suggests that this trend will continue when figures for 2005-06 are published. We will look further at how fast we can increase the deliveries of new homes as part of the spending review.

Housing

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect of reductions in Supporting People budgets on  (a) smaller registered social landlords and  (b) domestic violence refuges.

Phil Woolas: Reductions in the Supporting People budget have been made in line with the findings of the 2004 independent review of the programme. This identified that the then £1.8 billion budget was too much to pay for the services within the programme and did not represent value for public money. Actions have subsequently been taken at the local and national level to address value for money, and reductions in Supporting People budgets have reflected the need to improve efficiency. My Department has provided and ensured support and capacity building for authorities and providers (including small providers) to help them in this work.

Housing

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what capital receipts have been received by Birmingham city council from Right to Buy sales in each year since 1995-96; what percentage has been  (a) used to repay housing revenue account debt,  (b) pooled and  (c) available for housing investment in Birmingham; and how much financial support has been provided for Birmingham city council's housing capital expenditure.

Yvette Cooper: The following table answers my hon. Friend's questions as far as we are able. The notes explain where we have been unable to make a full answer.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Receipts from Right to Buy (RTB) sales  Housing set-aside( 1)  Pooled receipts arising from sales of dwellings( 2)  Usable housing receipts( 4)  Supported new housing capital expenditure( 5) 
			 1995-96 (6)— 11,799 (7)— (6)— 64,993 
			 1996-97 (6)— 13,440 (7)— (6)— 62,710 
			 1997-98 (6)— 15,432 (7)— (6)— 61,838 
			 1998-99 14,647 16,713 (7)— (6)— 61,815 
			 1999-00 27,275 21,747 (7)— (6)— 60,088 
			 2000-01 35,380 30,640 (7)— (6)— 59,980 
			 2001-02 43,664 35,776 (7)— (6)— 58,016 
			 2002-03 70,382 55,372 (7)— (6)— 55,175 
			 2003-04 85,875 (6)— (7)— (6)— 55,300 
			 2004-05 79,705 0 49,401 22,081 45,051 
			 2005-06 48,785 0 34,146 14,639 47,952 
			 2006-07 (3)21,513 0 (3)15,094 (3)6,41 9 46,914 
			 (1 )Communities and Local Government does not collect data on Right to Buy (RTB) set-aside amounts. Until 2003-04 the data gathered are the total receipts to which set-aside applies for all sales of Housing Revenue Account (HRA) assets. This includes Right to Buy (RTB) sales and also, for example, large or small scale stock transfers and the sale of bare land. For 2003-04, while local authorities will have set aside receipts from all HRA disposals, we only gathered data for receipts generated by large or small scale voluntary transfers. Whether or not a local authority actually used the amounts set-aside to repay debt was a treasury management decision for them. It may have been that it made better financial sense for the local authority to keep a debt on its books and invest the set-aside elsewhere, rather than redeem the debt early and face early redemption penalties.  (2) Central Government only began receiving housing receipts in 2004-05. Before then, local authorities were required instead to set aside a proportion of their housing receipts. For 2004-05 onwards, figures include retained capital receipts arising from the sales of all dwellings, not just Right to Buy.  (3) Figures for 2006-07 are only for the first two quarters. Figures for the third and fourth quarters will not be known until February and May this year respectively.  (4) Before 2004-05, the Department did not collect data on the amount of receipts retained by local authorities. For years since then, figures include retained capital receipts arising from the sales of all dwellings, not just Right to Buy.  (5) Figures show the amount of additional housing capital expenditure for which central Government supports through HRA subsidy.  (6) Not available.  (7 )Not applicable.

Housing

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what temporary housing provision was made available to the homeless in Eastbourne constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle), 29 January 2007,  Official Report, column 2W.

Housing: Standards

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects each local authority to meet the decent homes target.

Yvette Cooper: Three local authorities with ALMOS and four local authorities who have retained management of their stock report they have already achieved the decent homes standard.
	In June the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government said that some local authorities would need to continue their progress beyond 2010 in order to ensure value for money, support for mixed communities and new build and deal with late starts. However the majority of social landlords should be completed by 2010 and we expect that 95 per cent. of the social housing stock will be decent by 2010. We have not yet finalised dates for when each local authority expects to be able to make all their stock decent.

Islamic Extremists

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding her Department has provided to local authorities in large cities to monitor for Islamic extremists, broken down by local authority; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The monitoring of Islamist extremists, which is the role of the Police and Security Services, is not something that Communities and Local Government (CLG) provides money to support.
	CLG continues to work closely with local authorities and community organisations to build the capacity of Muslim communities to robustly challenge the ideas of violent extremists who seek to undermine our way of life, and some £5 million of funding for 2007-08 is being made available for local authorities to take forward a programme of activities to tackle violent extremism at a local level.

Leeds: Local Planning Authority

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the performance of Leeds as a local planning authority.

Yvette Cooper: My Department publishes quarterly statistics on local planning authorities' performance in terms of the time taken to determine planning applications and, together with Government offices, tracks whether or not they are on course to meet our PSA6 (Local Government's PSA11) targets by March 2007. Where authorities are identified as being at high risk of failing to meet the targets, my officials ask the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) to offer them tailored support. Where this offer is accepted, the first step is for a PAS consultant to undertake a diagnostic visit.
	My officials together with Government offices also monitor performance on the preparation of local development frameworks against the timetables that local authorities have set out in their local development schemes.
	In addition, the Audit Commission undertakes periodic inspections of individual local authorities' planning services where, for example, the Audit Commission's relationship manager considers there is cause for concern.
	In 2003 Leeds city council was identified as a Planning Standards Authority for major and other types of application. As part of this process, my Department commissioned consultants to visit the planning authority and assess its planning performance. Since then Leeds has made progress towards the PSA6 targets.

Local Government

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the annual percentage change was in central Government grant provided to Hull city council in each year since 1990.

Phil Woolas: The annual percentage changes in central Government grant provided to Hull city council in each year since 1990 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Percentage change 
			 1991-92 -5.2 
			 1992-93 30.9 
			 1993-94 -80.6 
			 1994-95 1.4 
			 1995-96 -3.2 
			 1996-97 534.3 
			 1997-98 1.6 
			 1998-99 5.2 
			 1999-2000 5.9 
			 2000-01 7.6 
			 2001-02 7.9 
			 2002-03 6.4 
			 2003-04 12.7 
			 2004-05 1.3 
			 2005-06 5.6 
			  Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn Summary (RS) returns 
		
	
	Owing to reorganisation, and consequent changes to local authority responsibilities or methods of funding, direct comparisons are not valid across all years. In particular, before 1993-94 payments were made into the Hull city collection fund in respect of Hull city council and Humberside county council. Between 1993-94 and 1995-96, payments made to Hull city are for that council only. From 1996-97, payments have been made to Kingston-upon-Hull unitary authority.
	The definition of central Government grant used here is the sum of specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance (i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services), and formula grant (revenue support grant and redistributed business rates). In past years, where applicable the SSA reduction grant, police grant, and central support protection grants have also been included.
	Figures exclude capital grants, funding for local authorities' housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.

Local Government

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with  (a) the Local Government Association and  (b) Gloucestershire county council on (i) prudential borrowing and (ii) the previous capital borrowing regime; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effect of the changes in the local authority borrowing regime since 2005.

Phil Woolas: Since introducing the prudential borrowing system in 2004, we have monitored it carefully. That includes regular discussions with the Local Government Association, covering matters such as the transition from the previous system and possible future developments. We consider that the changes made to the system since 2004 have improved its operation. All local authorities are consulted on proposed amendments to the capital finance system, but there have been no individual discussions with Gloucestershire county council.

Local Government

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions have taken place between her Department and Leicester city council regarding the local government finance settlement for 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: As in previous years where there were no substantial changes to the formulae, I decided not to agree to meet individual local authorities' delegations during consultation on our proposals for the 2007-08 local government finance settlement. I did, however, meet with London councils and other groups representing different types of local authorities during the consultation.
	The local authority associations were informed of this arrangement prior to the launch of consultation.
	Therefore, no direct discussions about the 2007-08 settlement have taken place between Leicester city council and Communities and Local Government. Leicester city council did submit a written representation in response to the settlement consultation, which was considered alongside all others received during the consultation period.

Local Government Finance: Wandsworth

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of central funding for London boroughs was allocated to Wandsworth council in each of the last 10 years; and what the average allocation was in each year.

Phil Woolas: The proportion of central funding for all London boroughs allocated to Wandsworth council in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 1996-97 3.9 
			 1997-98 3.8 
			 1998-99 3.6 
			 1999-2000 3.5 
			 2000-01 3.4 
			 2001-02 3.3 
			 2002-03 3.2 
			 2003-04 3.3 
			 2004-05 3.2 
			 2005-06 3.1 
			  Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn Summary (RS) returns 
		
	
	The definition of central funding used here is the sum of specific government grants inside aggregate external finance (i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services), and formula grant (revenue support grant and redistributed business rates). In past years, where applicable the SSA reduction grant, police grant, and central support protection grants have also been included.
	Figures exclude capital grants, funding for local authorities' housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.
	The London borough total excludes the City of London.

Minerva

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what commercial  (a) lease agreements and  (b) contracts her Department and its predecessors have made with Minerva plc. since 1997.

Angela Smith: The Department has no lease agreements or contracts with Minerva plc. The predecessor Department, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which began in May 2002, also had no lease agreements or contracts with Minerva plc. Data prior to 2002 are obtainable only at disproportionate cost.

Mosaic Data

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what purpose the Audit Commission purchased Mosaic data from Experian; and how much was spent on the data.

Phil Woolas: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission. I have asked the Chief Executive of the Commission to write to the hon. Member and shall ensure that the answer is made available in the Library of the House.

Open Space Works

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated cost is of her Department's Open Space Works programme.

Angela Smith: The Open Space Works project will introduce full open plan accommodation for Communities and Local Government's HQ staff. It is currently forecast to cost £7.9 million (excluding VAT). The project will allow Communities and Local Government to accommodate London HQ staff in two buildings. Savings are forecast to pay back the investment in 2.4 years and to deliver savings of £3.5 million per annum beyond that.

Parish Councils

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with the National Association of Local Councils about enhancing the powers of parish councils.

Phil Woolas: The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has played a full and valuable role in the development of the Government's policies relating to parish and town councils, involving frequent meetings with officials from my Department. In particular, NALC has advised on a number of reforms to the parish council sector, including reforms to the approach to parish reviews, the proposed extension of the power of wellbeing to eligible parish councils and also parish councils in London. These reforms and others are now before Parliament in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill. More generally NALC contributed during 2005-06 to the project board charged with taking forward the ideas published in "Citizen Engagement and Public Services: Why Neighbourhoods Matter".

Parish Councils

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many parish councils in England have had vacancies for a councillor of more than six months in the last three years.

Phil Woolas: We do not hold this information centrally.

Parish Councils

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what support is available for parish councils wishing to obtain quality parish council status.

Phil Woolas: The support available for parish councils wishing to obtain quality parish council status includes a bursary scheme of the National Association of Local Councils, assistance from individual County Associations of Local Councils, and the guidance published jointly by the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs and the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Parish Councils

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average turnout was in parish council elections in England in the last five years.

Phil Woolas: Information about the turnout of parish council elections is not collected by Government.

Parliamentary Questions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will answer question 103216, on super output areas tabled on 21 November 2006 by the hon. Member for Yeovil.

Phil Woolas: I have now replied to the hon. Member's question. I apologise for the delay in responding to it.

Planning Inspectorate

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Planning Inspectorate will provide a substantive reply to the letter from Reigate and Banstead borough council of 13 November 2006, reference PLE01/351 (07707).

Yvette Cooper: The Planning Inspectorate is currently investigating the cause of the delay in dealing with Reigate and Banstead borough council's letter of 13 November. A substantive reply will be sent within the next seven days.

Private Sector Contracts

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) remit,  (b) membership and  (c) reporting date is of the inquiry into private sector contracts with local authorities; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: My right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has received a letter from the Local Government Association proposing a review of procurement. Discussions are under way with the association on the format for taking this work forward.

Public Requests Ordering Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  which properties were involved in the 14 cases of public request to order disposal since 1997;
	(2)  what the reasons were in each case where she has refused a public request ordering disposal since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The following table lists the land or properties involved in the 14 cases along with the reasons why a direction was not issued under section 98 of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980.
	Under section 98 the Secretary of State can order local authorities and certain other public bodies to dispose of their vacant or underused land. Any member of the public can request that the Secretary of State use this power. If, having considered the request and received representations from the owners, the Secretary of State is satisfied that the land in question is not being used or not being sufficiently used for the purposes of that body's functions then she may issue a direction.
	The table shows that there has been a variety of reasons why directions were not issued and in the majority of these cases the Secretary of State did not refuse the public request to order disposal.
	
		
			  Land or property  Reason direction to order disposal not issued 
			 25 Castle Avenue, Dover The landowner agreed to put the property up for auction, therefore a direction was not necessary. 
			 Vacant dwellings, Walgrove Gardens, White Waltham, Berkshire The owner is a body not listed in schedule 16 of the Local Government Planning and Land Act to which the powers relate. 
			 28 Judges Drive, Liverpool The landowner disposed of their interest in the property, therefore a direction was not necessary. 
			 14 Prescot Drive, Liverpool The Secretary of State was satisfied that the landowner has plans to develop the land and therefore a direction to order disposal at that time was deemed not to be in the public interest. Notice of the proposal to direct remains in place and will be reviewed in October 2007. 
			 16 Prescot Drive, Liverpool The Secretary of State was satisfied that the landowner has plans to develop the land and therefore a direction to order disposal at that time was deemed not to be in the public interest. Notice of the proposal to direct remains in place and will be reviewed in October 2007. 
			 18 Prescot Drive, Liverpool The Secretary of State was satisfied that the landowner has plans to develop the land and therefore a direction to order disposal at that time was deemed not to be in the public interest. Notice of the proposal to direct remains in place and will be reviewed in October 2007. 
			 20 Prescot Drive, Liverpool The landowner disposed of their interest in the property, therefore a direction was not necessary. 
			 Palace House Stables and Yard, Newmarket Not yet decided. 
			 Land at King Hedges Road, Cambridge The Public Request to Order Disposal was withdrawn by the initiator. 
			 Land at Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead A direction to order disposal was deemed not to be in the public interest as the land formed part of the public highway. 
			 Fifers Lane, Norwich The Public Request to Order Disposal was withdrawn by the initiator. 
			 Artizium Building, Luton The Public Request to Order Disposal was withdrawn by the initiator. 
			 Land at Thorpe Wood, Peterborough A direction to order disposal was deemed not to be in the public interest (due to future local authority plans for the site). 
			 Land at Master Brewer Site, Western Avenue, Hillingdon, London The Public Request to Order Disposal was not pursued further by the initiator.

Revenue Support Grant

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if her Department will reform the Revenue Support Grant Formula to take into account the cost pressures associated with containing a busy airport or port.

Phil Woolas: We have no current plans to review the funding formula to take specific account of the cost pressures associated with containing a busy airport or port. Formula Grant (which includes Revenue Support Grant) can be used by councils for any purpose, provided their statutory obligations are met. I note that Hillingdon's formula grant will increase by 4.4 per cent. in 2007-08.

Rough Sleeping

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures are in place  (a) to maintain and  (b) to audit the accuracy of her Department's estimates of rough sleeping.

Yvette Cooper: The Prime Minister's target to reduce rough sleeping by two thirds from 1998 levels was met ahead of time in 2001 and is now 73 per cent. lower and being sustained. My officials work closely with local authorities to ensure that levels of rough sleeping remain low and are further reduced through implementation of their homelessness strategies, required under the Homelessness Act 2002.
	Local authorities undertake rough sleeping counts in accordance with guidance developed by the Department in association with the voluntary sector. Departmental officials also attend many counts and we are in the process of extending independent verification to cover all counts undertaken. Local authorities submit the outcome of a count, or their estimate, in their housing strategy and statistical appendix each year. It is these local authority figures that are published each September in the national rough sleeping estimate. Independent evaluations have confirmed the overall reduction since 1997. In addition we are looking at other ways to assess wider homelessness which may not be captured by the current count methods.

Shared-ownership Housing

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which housing associations required buyers to purchase outright a share greater than 75 per cent. in shared-ownership housing developments in the last 24 months.

Yvette Cooper: Properties which are grant funded by the Housing Corporation are not offered for sale with a requirement to purchase above 75 per cent.
	Some Housing Associations may offer different terms on schemes provided with their own funding, but the Department for Communities and Local Government do not collect information on the terms and conditions of these schemes because they are not grant funded.

Social Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she expects to meet the decent homes standard in social housing by 2010; and what estimate she has made of the proportion of housing stock which will fail to meet the target.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 7 June 2006,  Official Report, column 28WS.

Super Output Areas

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the population is of each of the lower layer super output areas listed in the answer to question reference 68496; what the 10 most deprived lower layer super output areas are in  (a) England and  (b) the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The following table lists the number of people in each lower layer super output area (LSOA) given in answer to question reference 68496. A total of 293,746 people live in these LSOAs.
	
		
			  SOA code  Local authority name  Government office region  Rank of IMD( 1)  Population 2004 
			 E01029046 Mendip South West 4,318 1,249 
			 E01029062 Mendip South West 5,071 1,301 
			 E01029042 Mendip South West 8,270 1,592 
			 E01029048 Mendip South West 8,944 1,245 
			 E01029106 Sedgemoor South West 2,580 1,628 
			 E01029100 Sedgemoor South West 4,344 1,457 
			 E01029132 Sedgemoor South West 4,545 1,429 
			 E01029109 Sedgemoor South West 5,611 1,457 
			 E01029107 Sedgemoor South West 5,982 1,486 
			 E01029112 Sedgemoor South West 6,755 1,488 
			 E01029111 Sedgemoor South West 7,280 1,810 
			 E01029095 Sedgemoor South West 7,321 1,412 
			 E01029110 Sedgemoor South West 7,717 1,636 
			 E01029098 Sedgemoor South West 7,947 1,385 
			 E01029099 Sedgemoor South West 8,588 1,377 
			 E01029105 Sedgemoor South West 8,959 1,410 
			 E01029097 Sedgemoor South West 9,086 1,522 
			 E01029096 Sedgemoor South West 9,310 1,383 
			 E01029116 Sedgemoor South West 9,513 1,535 
			 E01029131 Sedgemoor South West 9,605 1,549 
			 E01029234 South Somerset South West 5,363 1,517 
			 E01029247 South Somerset South West 5,715 1,578 
			 E01029239 South Somerset South West 5,855 1,388 
			 E01029236 South Somerset South West 7,883 1,515 
			 E01029233 South Somerset South West 8,442 1,517 
			 E01029170 South Somerset South West 8,974 1,216 
			 E01029237 South Somerset South West 9,065 1,434 
			 E01029293 Taunton Deane South West 3,349 1,700 
			 E01029297 Taunton Deane South West 4,923 1,347 
			 E01029292 Taunton Deane South West 4,928 1,524 
			 E01029299 Taunton Deane South West 7,840 1,511 
			 E01029311 Taunton Deane South West 8,606 1,491 
			 E01029280 Taunton Deane South West 8,623 1,638 
			 E01029286 Taunton Deane South West 9,112 1,414 
			 E01029307 Taunton Deane South West 9,628 1,467 
			 E01029344 West Somerset South West 7,397 1,206 
			 E01029339 West Somerset South West 8,303 1,418 
			 E01029341 West Somerset South West 8,835 1,384 
			 E01029326 West Somerset South West 9,504 1,251 
			 E01029333 West Somerset South West 9,655 1,312 
			 (1) Where 1 is most deprived. 
		
	
	The 10 most deprived SOAs in England are:
	
		
			  SOA code  Local authority name  Ward name  GOR name  Rank of IMD 
			 E01006559 Liverpool Breckfield North West 1 
			 E01005204 Manchester Harpurhey North West 2 
			 E01006755 Liverpool Speke North West 3 
			 E01005133 Manchester Central North West 4 
			 E01005203 Manchester Harpurhey North West 5 
			 E01005067 Manchester Ardwick North West 6 
			 E01006468 Knowsley Princess North West 7 
			 E01006676 Liverpool Granby North West 8 
			 E01005202 Manchester Harpurhey North West 9 
			 E01006561 Liverpool Breckfield North West 10 
		
	
	The most deprived LSOA in England is E01006559, which is located within the Breckfield ward in Liverpool. All 10 of the most deprived SOAs in the country are located in the North West.
	As there is no UK-wide Index of Deprivation, it is not possible to identify the 10 most deprived LSOAs in the UK. Each of the four nations produces their own Indices of Deprivation, which are all slightly different thus making it impossible to directly compare them.

Travellers

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department provides funding for the development of privately-owned Travellers' sites.

Meg Munn: Communities and Local Government provides funding to local authorities and registered social landlords for the development and refurbishment of sites through the Gypsy and Traveller Site Grant. However, the bidding guidance for 2006-08 encourages the submission of schemes that offer innovative solutions to providing accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers, for example using public investment to pump-prime private provision, where that investment is protected or recycled. The guidance is available on the CLG website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1501686.

Unitary Status

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to extend the time limits for councils to apply for unitary status under the provisions of the Government's Invitation to Councils in England; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Government consider that requiring councils to submit proposals by 25 January gave them sufficient time and we do not intend to extend the deadline for the receipt of proposals.

Unitary Status

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which councils have submitted bids for unitary status under the Government's Invitation to Councils in England.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made to the House on 30 January 2007.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Minister gave approval in October 2005 to continue development of the Valuation Office Agency's Automated Valuation Model.

Phil Woolas: In October 2005 I gave approval for the continued development of the Valuation Office Agency's Automated Valuation Model (AVM) in order to secure the investment already made in the technology. This will allow the AVM to be used as a support for the Agency's day-to-day work, including maintenance of council tax valuation lists.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Valuation Office Agency's definition is of a market information unit.

Phil Woolas: Each of the Valuation Office Agency's Groups maintains a market information unit which is responsible for the collection of rental, receipts and/or cost information from occupiers or owners of non-domestic properties to assist in preparing valuations for the compilation of new rating lists or maintenance of existing ones.

Wind Turbines

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the applications for land-based wind turbines which have been  (a) rejected and  (b) approved by her Department since 1997, broken down by constituency.

Meg Munn: The information requested has been incorporated into a table, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. Reliable data are only available from April 2000. Information on the location of proposals by Westminster parliamentary constituency is not collected centrally but has been estimated using postcodes and grid references where available. A map showing the locations of relevant decisions has also been provided.